Warren Steven Feek

Sept 22, 1953 to Oct 17, 2024

It is with broken hearts that the family of Warren Steven Feek announce that he died suddenly in Victoria, British Columbia on October 17, 2024, the result of a catastrophic stroke.

Born to Betty and Cliff Feek in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand, Warren was the older brother to his sisters, Janine and Meridee, both of whom still reside in Aotearoa. His parents’ incredible work ethic, and his father’s roots in the labour movement formed the foundation for his life’s work, and the family-focussed childhood he grew up in on Buller Street, surrounded by a community of dear family friends, influenced a life of community-building and relationships, both personally and professionally.

At 17, Warren left New Plymouth to attend Victoria University in Wellington. His university years and friends made there were a source of immense joy for him, often regaling to friends and family with stories of his adventures with “the boys”, as well as his engagement with numerous protests and political movements, a half-century later. Upon graduating, Warren worked in the community and at the YMCA, most notably leading a program for younger siblings of criminal offenders. He then made his way to the U.K., via travel throughout Southeast Asia, to work for a number of organisations, including Framework Consulting and the Commonwealth Secretariat. Joining UNICEF in 1993, he moved to New York City to work in Communication for International Development, with a focus on the health response to HIV/AIDS crisis, a massive challenge globally. It was in this role that Warren began to develop the idea for the Communication Initiative.

Warren’s biggest life work, the Communication Initiative, emerged at a time where huge global changes and the invention of the internet posed new challenges and opportunities for addressing development issues worldwide. Seeing the incredible work done by communities and local organizations around the world, Warren envisioned a platform which facilitated peer-to-peer communication, networking, and knowledge-sharing throughout the wider development community, with an emphasis on local knowledge versus dictation from the Global North, removing barriers and “creating space” for work being done in wide-ranging fields of international development from polio eradication and maternal health initiatives to child poverty and democratic governance.

Warren and Victoria met in London at a meeting hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat. In 1997, they moved their family to Victoria, British Columbia, where together they founded “The CI” and continued to co-direct the company until his passing. Warren was proud of the incredible people that made CI possible; many have been involved for over 20 years. He loved his team, his work, and his friends and colleagues around the world as much as he loved learning new things, and advocating for Social and Behaviour change in international development, to which he was deeply committed.

Warren and his family made their home here on the West Coast. Warren often said that Vancouver Island was second-best in the world only to the foothills of Mount Taranaki. No matter where his work took him – and it took him a great many wonderful places - he made an active effort to connect with and be present in the lives of his family each and every day. The last time the family were all in the island, at the wedding of Braden and Caitlin in August of 2023, holds many special memories for the family.

Warren was known for his warmth, generosity, humility, wit, intellect, interest in people and politics, love of sport (especially rugby and the All Blacks), and above everything the love of his children. He was happiest watching his and Victoria’s kids doing the activities they loved, often with their friends (some of whom had fur and hooves). He was a proud Kiwi until the day he died, never forgetting where he came from and instilling that love of Aotearoa in his three children, who were all living there at the time of his passing, much to his delight. Kaitlin, Braden, and Logan: you made him so proud every day, as the people you are.

A tribute to his four homes and his years of travelling adventures, he leaves behind many friends throughout the world, in New Zealand, England, New York, Victoria, BC, and beyond. He is remembered by colleagues and close friends from all four corners of the globe, whom he had privilege of working alongside throughout his 45-year career in the field of Global Development and Social and Behaviour Change.

Warren was predeceased by his parents, and his brother-in-law Bruce Banbury. Left to grieve are his partner Victoria Martin; his children Kaitlin (who shared a birthday with her Dad), Braden (Caitlin Louie), and Logan; his sisters, Janine Banbury and Meridee Beange (Guy); and brother-in-law Stephen Martin (Drew Thomson), and their families.

The family would like to express their immense gratitude for the incredible care Warren received over many years from Dr. David Attwell, Dr. Marcus Sikkel, Dr. Jessica Ross, and recently Dr Andrew Lockey and Dr. Dennis Kim. Warren was incredibly well looked after.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the Taranaki Rugby Community Trust (https://www.tcrt.co.nz/ ), or Tamai Sports ( https://www.tamaisports.co.nz /). Warren would have loved to see more children in New Zealand getting the chance to play the sport he loved most.

A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday November 24th 10:30 am PST at Claremont Secondary School (4980 Wesley Road, Victoria, B.C.). Livestreaming will be available 15 minutes prior to the event. https://www.facebook.com/events/s/warren-feek-celebration-of-lif/2372155473134629/

Ka kite Warren.