Warren Craig Townshend born 23 Nov 1969 was the son of Graham and Maureen Townshend, Brother of Phillip, Husband of Winnie, Father to Connor, Uncle to Sienna, Zoe, Kayah, Kenzie, Pheonix & Hendrix, Brother in Law to Pam, Amey, Angelo, Lester and Janice, Son in Law to Patrick & Mei, Nephew to Anthony & Sheryl, Cousin to Anthony, Rachel, Anneliese, Catherine, Annamarie and friend to many; passed away April 19, 2023.

Our beloved Warren just like his career as a Soldier in the Australian Army fought a brave and valiant fight for the past 4 years against Cancer with the aid of his family and friends but was eventually worn down despite the best efforts, love and care from family, friends and the medical teams who looked after him during this period.

At a time when Warren had every entitlement to feel bitter about circumstances he maintained a strength of character, his trademark humour, care for others (especially his son Connor and Wife Winnie) and that evil twinkle in his eye that we all knew meant that something was amusing him.

Warren grew up with his family in Mt Evelyn a suburb of Melbourne Victoria in the lovely Dandenong Ranges surrounded by bushland landscapes and spent much of his time playing ‘Army’ with his friends in a time before cell phones or video games. This love of the outdoors growing up and time in Army Cadets transitioned to a long career after joining at 17 in the Australian Regular Army working his way through the ranks to become a Warrant Officer in the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps.

Serving in the Army was a lifelong dream for Warren and through various postings and roles he demonstrated a continued enthusiasm for his chosen career, worked alongside and mentored many he served with and was awarded the Australian Active Service Medal amongst other awards for his contribution serving in East Timor during the INTERFET campaign.

This willingness to sacrifice for others in the Service of his country and for the greater good were demonstrative of the character Warren displayed in all aspects of his life as loyal friend, loving husband, amazing brother, much-loved son and valued friend.

After many years in the Army and postings around Australia Warren retired from the Army to move with Winnie and Connor to Canada to start the next phase of his life. And whilst dealing with Snow (which he despised), Toronto traffic and the requirement to learn the rules of Hockey took time he embraced his new home and the family that came with it who held a special place in his heart.

Warren was a keen cinephile, Military history enthusiast / collector, Whiskey connoisseur, reader of a wide range of genres and enjoyed spending time with Connor working on Lego projects, sharing his favoured movies such as Star Wars and other action / Sci Fi flicks and gardening which was something he got interested in after moving to their home in North York.

One of Warren’s favourite tricks showing his wicked sense of humour was sharing books with you, for you to only find out after starting that the book that this was part of a series and Warren had given you a selection that meant you had to go back and read the earlier editions to understand what was going on.

Warren will be deeply missed by his family and friends and as he would want as the self-proclaimed ‘hero of the Universe, Defender of Freedom and Ghost who walks (Phantom Comics)’ he would want us to remember fondly the fun times he shared with us all and love he had for life through celebration of the short time shared with him.

We have lost a special one with Warren gone and it is way too early, but he will remain in our memories with his warm demeanour, kind heart, infectious laugh, wry smile and wicked sense of humour -Rest In Peace Warren and know you will not be forgotten and were much loved by many.