Obituary of Clifford G. Warner

WARNER-Clifford G. Warner passed away on Sunday, January 24, 2010, at the Saint John Regional Hospital. He was born in Saint John on July 9, 1918, a son of William Leo and Kathleen (Costigan) Warner. When he graduated from high school in 1932, Clifford won the Lieutenant Governor's Medal for the province. Going straight to work at various jobs, he spent the next 10 years contributing to the family, something he would continue to do faithfully for the rest of his life. Cliff enlisted in the Royal Canadian Army and served from 1941 to 1946 in Utopia and Sussex, N.B., Kingston, Ont., and Victoria, B.C. Working at the Bank of Montreal after the war, Cliff joined McDonald Currie (now Price Waterhouse Coopers) as an apprentice. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1952. He was appointed Senior Partner of McDonald Currie in 1971 and served in that capacity until 1977, retiring in 1984 but continuing to serve clients until his death. Cliff was made a Fellow of the New Brunswick Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1975 and served as President of the Institute from 1975 to 1976 as well as Chair of the Atlantic Provinces Association of Chartered Accountants. Always an unselfish volunteer, Clifford gave generously of his professional and managerial talents. He was at various times President of Family Services SJ, and the United Way of SJ, a member of the Board of United Way Canada, Chair of the Lord Beaverbrook Rink, President of the SJ Victorian Order of Nurses, Treasurer of the Royal Canadian Legion, and President of the Riverside Golf and Country Club, and resident at the time of his death of the Lancaster Golden Seniors Service Club. He was a member of the Royal United Services Institute, the Irish Canadian Cultural Association, and the Union Club. He was very proud to have been awarded the YMCW Red Triangle Award in 2000, among the many awards and distinctions he received throughout his life. Clifford was a 4th Degree Knight of Msgr. Lockary Assembly and a 3rd Degree Member of Bishop McMahon Council Knights of Columbus. A lifelong and faithful member of the Liberal Party, Clifford was proud to serve the party by running in the 1984 federal election in the riding of Saint John-Lancaster. Cliff was a natural sportsman, boxing and rowing in his youth and curling and golfing for most of his life. For over 30 years, some of his best times were spent with family and friends at the Miramichi Salmon Club. He was predeceased by four sisters, Lenore WarnerMarie (Warner) La Forest, Margaret (Warner) Brown, and Dorothy Anne (Warner) Vachon; and four brothers, the Rev. Donald Warner, William Warner, John Warner, Q.C., and Alfred Warner, M.D. He is survived by his sister, Eileen (Warner) Cole and her husband, Bliss Cole; his sister-in-law, Barbara (Hughes) Warner; his brothers-in-law, the Honourable Gerald V. La Forest and Pierre Vachon; his nephew, Phillip Cole; and many other nieces and nephews. Cliff was an example of duty, responsibility, and great kindness to his family and his community and we will miss him. Resting at Fitzpatrick's Funeral Home, 100 Waterloo St., with visiting on Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Pius X Church on Wednesday morning at eleven o'clock. Interment will take place in St. Joseph's Cemetery. Members of the Knights of Columbus will gather at the funeral home on Tuesday evening at seven o'clock for a memorial service.