It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Andrea Marie Warner at age 47 last month. Following a nearly three-year battle with endometrial and ovarian cancer, she passed away peacefully at Vancouver General Hospital with countless family and friends nearby. Andrea is survived and missed by her husband Carlos, sister Jennifer, mother Elsie (Robin), nephew Alex, cousin Kamiko, grandmothers Lena and Donna, and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. She is predeceased by her father Bob and grandfathers Edward and Ronald.
From a young age, Andrea’s creativity was unlimited, from her preferred sandwiches (ketchup, peanut butter, and pickles) to her earliest pets (worms in bags of dirt). She was always creating. Books were drawn in and signed. New, “cooler” clothes were designed for her Barbies. She would decide she wanted to take up hairstyling and practice on her sister (never mind that the hairspray burned Jenn’s skin).
At every stage of life, Andrea’s passion for art, music, and writing was at the forefront of her life. In high school, she led her school’s literary magazine, played clarinet in band, and wrote plays for school events. Later, she decided to take up the upright bass for no particular reason other than she liked it. After journalism school, she launched Medusa magazine, writing in the first issue’s editor’s note that “This is not a magazine that Conrad Black or Izzy Asper would want to publish. We make corporations uneasy, and we like it. We shock. We deviate. We are independent.”
Andrea was an incredible writer and interviewer, always practicing what she called “consent-based journalism”. Her enduring connections—and in some cases, close friendships—with many of the artists she wrote about attest to the care she put into every piece she published. She joined CBC Music in 2012, where she wrote pieces ranging from why The Tragically Hip is actually a feminist band, to the “11 Creepiest Love Songs of All Time”, to her annual holiday story about the sexiest new Christmas songs. Andrea published four books: We Oughta Know: How Four Women Ruled the ’90s and Changed Canadian Music; Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography; Rise Up And Sing! Power, Protest, and Activism in Music; and The Time of My Life: Dirty Dancing. Alongside Susan Aglukark, she co-authored Kihiani: A Memoir of Healing. Andrea was also a co-host of the weekly podcast Pop This!, which covered pop culture through a feminist lens and aired for a decade.
Andrea had an unmatched talent for meeting new friends and learning about people. At every party she attended, she was a gravitational force, with everybody leaning in towards her to hear her stories and often feeling prompted to share their own. Even while she fought her cancer, Andrea always found time to spend time with her closest people, whether that was her chemo club supporting her during treatments, coffee and television at home, or swims and aquafit at the outdoor pool. If you were one of Andrea’s people, there was no distance she wouldn’t go to support you, and no distance she wouldn’t take you to find the best hot dog, the best pool, or the best walk by the water.
Andrea left us more swiftly than anyone expected, and she will be missed dearly by all who knew her. Donations can be made in Andrea’s name to two organizations she supported regularly: Battered Women’s Support Services (https://www.bwss.org/take-
