Gabriel Warren

WARREN, Gabriel Isaac (Gaby)

July 1, 1936 – June 26, 2025

Gaby passed away peacefully at the Ottawa Hospital on Thursday, June 26^th, five days away from his 89^th birthday. Gaby was born on July 1^st, 1936 in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Abraham and Lily (née Goodman) Warren. Gaby was predeceased in 2020 by the love of his life, his wife Annie (née Ana Cristina Planas-Galliano).

Gaby will be sorely missed by his beloved daughters Cristina, Abby (Alex), Lily (Chris), and his grandsons Charlie and Walt, as well as his brother-in-law Miguel Planas (Denise) and their sons René, Rubén and Gabriel, who Gaby loved and treated as grandsons. Miguel had joined Gaby’s family at age 13 when Gaby and Annie became his legal guardians.

In the last decade of his life, Gaby reminisced about his early high school years at University of Toronto Schools (UTS) and Forest Hill Collegiate, as well as many great summers at camp, most notably Camp Ogama (1946 to 1954).

Gaby continued his education at the University of Toronto earning a Bachelor of Arts degree (Psychology) and a Bachelor of Laws degree. In 1962, a pivotal year for Gaby, he was called to the Ontario Bar and became a Foreign Service Officer in Canada’s Department of External Affairs.

Early career highlights as a Foreign Service Officer included postings at the Canadian Embassy in Havana from 1963 to 1965 (where he met his wife Annie) and the Canadian Embassy in Rome from 1968 to 1971.  During this period, Gaby was also a member of Canadian delegations to the UN General Assembly in New York.  In addition, he represented Canada in the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its Legal Sub-Committee, where he participated in the final negotiations that led to approval of the Convention on Damage Caused by Space Objects. The culmination of this period was his work in Geneva from 1973 to 1975 as Deputy Head and Legal Advisor of the Canadian Delegation to the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), where he was one of the main drafters of the 1975 Helsinki Final Acts. From 1975 to 1976, he served as Canada’s Law of the Sea Coordinator.

In 1976, Gaby joined the Canadian Department of Communications, where he served for 12  years as Director General of International Relations at Canada’s Department of Communications (1976 to 1982 and 1985 to 1991), including as Chair of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s High Level Committee. Between his two periods at the Department of Communications, he served as Director General of Multilateral Affairs at the Department of External Affairs, where he was responsible for Canada’s UN policies, including on human rights issues.  After retiring from the Canadian Public Service in September 1991, Gaby worked for 10 years as a consultant in international telecommunications. The common thread during Gaby’s entire professional career was the meaningful and lasting friendships he formed.

Throughout his life, Gaby had a deep interest in modern art, classical music and above all, jazz. During his travels, particularly in Havana and Rome, he cultivated long-lasting relationships with important artists and musicians - collecting many paintings, prints and recordings which he generously shared with family and friends.

Over the course of his life, Gaby was actively involved in numerous civic and cultural organizations, including from 1978 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 1998, serving as President of the National Arts Centre Orchestra Association (NACOA).

Inspired by his intense musical passion for jazz in all its forms, in 1987-1988, Gaby served as Vice-President and a member of the Programming Committee of the Ottawa International Jazz Festival (OIJF).  For 12 ensuing years he served as a volunteer during the annual festival.  In 2005, on the 25^thanniversary of the OIJF, he was presented with its Award of Distinction for his contribution to jazz in the Ottawa region. 

In his later years, Gaby pursued his desire to become a jazz vocalist and composer, regularly performing with some of the capital region’s best jazz musicians. He released two CDs containing some of his own compositions, as well as his arrangements of works by other artists. His first recording, a very personal musical memoir, was followed by a tribute to Annie, his wife of over 50 years, following her passing in 2020.

Gaby has been incredibly fortunate throughout his life in making and keeping great friends. We hope you can join us for a celebration of Gaby’s life (with jazz of course) on Thursday, July 31, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. at Beechwood National Memorial Centre (Beechwood Cemetery) located at 280 Beechwood Avenue in Ottawa.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Canadian International Council (CIC), Amnesty International or The Ottawa Jazz Festival.