
On June 10, 2001 the Nanaimo Flying Club lost one of its members and the world lost a great man. Mike Warren will be missed by everyone who knew him.
We lost Mike Warren
His true love was aviation, and people who loved aviation.
Mike had flown to
I became closer to Mike after I purchased my Yak-52 in 1993. My daughter, Deb, decided on flying as a career after being exposed to this great airplane. Mike became her instructor, and took her through her private and commercial licenses. When the Yak wasn’t suitable for instrument training, Mike had his trusty C-150 handy. Mike wouldn’t accept any money for any of this.
Mike was always ready to fly to an airshow. He ferried my
Yak-55 around
Mike and I were involved in a wing walker’s rescue at an airshow. He and his buddy, Bill Ammirato, knew that the performers needed help. They came to get me to help them, and we were able to drive a truck under the low flying airplane to bring the wing walker into the back. They were heroic in the back of the truck, basically holding the airplane down as it accelerated away before the line was cut.
Mike was ready to help anyone who needed help. He will leave a huge hole in my life, as he had become such a big part of helping me operate my planes. He’ll leave a big hole when we get together as friends and he is not there.
Mike leaves behind his son, Jason. He spent a great deal of
time with Jason at the airport and airshows. Mike’s brother, Don traveled to
this area several times a year from
Bud Granley
There is very little I can add to what Bud has said already. Mike was always a joy to be around – no matter how badly things were going he would always find the bright side of the situation and make you laugh. I don’t know how many times I have heard him say “Hell, that don’t matter – we’ll make it work” and proceed to do just that.
Mike had a heart of gold and was a gentle soul – he truly cared about every one of us who were lucky enough to be one of his friends.
He had the most remarkable approach to everything he did, and really gave a face to the phrase “attitude is everything”. I loved him and I miss him, as do so many others, and I believe my life was made better by knowing him.
April Zalesky