Warner, Peter Richard 54, died January, 14, 2022 in Paris, France. He was born and raised in St. Paul, MN on February 07, 1967 - son of Huber (deceased 2019) and survived by mother Patricia, brother Geoffrey, daughter Chloé, his Pacsé / partner Jacqueline Loran, Geoffrey's wife Dawn De Keyser, his nieces Laurel and Alexandra Warner.

Educated at University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee ('89), Peter studied film and discovered an interest in animation. While in the process of establishing residency in California to attend USC's film school (he never did start), he worked temporary jobs at various firms, including Thompson Digital Image, which had a nascent presence in animation on then high-end computers specializing in 3D digital rendering. A quick and interested learner, he was an early employee at Nothing Real and helped to develop, document, and train others in Shake software used for digital compositing of hundreds of layers of information used in the film industry. Nothing Real was bought by Apple in February, 2002. Peter worked first on the design and tech support of Shake, and then branched out to contribute design ideas to Motion, Aperture, Photos, and various other Apple software products. It was always considered a coup to get some of Peter's time and insight spent on a User Interface project, as he was known for looking at things in unique ways, thinking outside the box. Peter worked in Paris for Apple from 2002 until 2017. He taught at EEMI and Paris College of Art in 2018 up to 2021 and worked at Atomos in 2019, Maxon in 2020, and finally Epic Games in 2021 - with a remote team and an environment that inspired him.

Peter's love affair with France (alas, he studied German in school) started with his love of Gäelle, whom he met in New York, and built an early life with in Los Angeles and later Paris for more than 20 years. They had Chloé in Los Angeles, and she was doted on always as his "fresh young coconut". After the divorce, Chloé attended the Couture Fashion Design School Institut Français de la Mode in Paris. Peter and Chloé lived together only blocks from the Luxembourg garden, and he delighted in exploring with her all of what the city had to offer.

Peter's interests were wide-ranging. He was an accomplished draftsman, taking drawing classes in Paris whenever he could fit it in, and sometimes with Chloe. He happily lived without a car in Paris and used his bike to get everywhere. He traveled throughout Europe on many adventures, often meeting friends and family for weeks in rented villas in Normandy, Provance, Brittany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and other places.

His deep background with movie-making and the wide variety of people who called him as tech support for Shake lofted him into a number of odd adventures. People with whom he had only spoken in email from somewhere like New Zealand, took him out to dinner when they were in Paris. VFX Specialists found him at various tradeshows and he was frequently called out as "You are The Guy Who Saved Us!". He was always cheerfully dismissive of the importance of his contributions, which only endeared him further. His thoughtful commitment to the user's point-of-view illuminated countless conversations with his work friends and colleagues. "Whatever I was struggling with, I always knew a conversation with Peter would help me understand what I should do."

He loved museums and the spectacular artistry of machines of war - tanks, airplanes, the history of gallant acts of heroism and vivid moments of literally death-defying commitment to the idealistic causes they represented.

Home was perhaps most identified with Cawaja Beach in Tiny, Ontario. Big communal dinners on long tables - planned and cooked with gusto for whomever was around - was a way to return and connect with family almost annually in his early and later years. The summer of 2021 Peter, Geoffrey, and Patricia offered Huber's ashes up to the crystal waters of Georgian Bay together.

Jacqueline and Peter met 20 years ago in London and a long friendship ensued as they crossed on various paths in their professional lives. Friendship eventually turned to romance as for the first time in early 2019. They remained passionately devoted to each other and madly in love to the end, having both felt that in the other they had found their perfect life partner.

The first week of March, 2020 - a week before the pandemic lockdowns in Paris, Peter was diagnosed with renal cancer and a kidney was removed a few days later. While Paris was in lockdown, Jacqueline and Peter remained home as he recovered from this first operation. The procedure was initially deemed a success, but a few months later, further cancer spots required immunotherapy. Throughout regular hospital visits, Peter and Jacqueline continued living every day to the fullest, enjoying occasional visits between London and Paris until they moved to Peter's new apartment in the Paris suburb St-Germain-en-Laye. They continued to fight the early symptoms of his disease with intention and optimism. With his health declining, Peter was in and out of hospitals from September to November 2021. He was admitted for the final time in early December - still being cared for constantly by Jacqueline, and also in the last month by and supported by Ted Alexandre - Peter's Los Angeles friend of 30 years.

Many letters have been received from colleagues and friends around the world, with a common thread of the personal joy, trust, and inquisitiveness he had for the people around him, and how to "make each moment funnier, more beautiful, more relevant, more memorable, and poetic." If one's value is measured by the positive impact that they made on others, Peter certainly excelled:

"The most striking thing for me is that I cannot recall a single conversation with Peter where I did not both laugh and learn something interesting. He and I only worked closely together for about a year, despite knowing each other for about 20+ years, but he taught me more in that one year than I had learned in the previous 10. It was also probably the most fun year too, we laughed a lot - at me, at him, at life. He was exceptional on every level."

"I got to know Peter through work. Over the course of many years we spent countless hours designing and brainstorming new concepts. Arguing, debating, refining, and iterating. It was thrilling, exciting, and challenging. The best kind of work one could imagine. Peter's brilliance and creativity were self-evident. His mind was constantly conjuring up incredibly innovative concepts and he would go to great lengths to think through every aspect and implication. Peter helped me see the world from a different perspective."

"So very sad for you all - for the family and friends of Peter, and my lovely friend Jack - I have known Jacqui a long time and have never known her so happy. I think Peter must have been a very special person (to bring out such happiness in her)."

Peter's Paris Memorial took place in the famous Pere Lachaise Cemetery on January 26. Friends and flowers filled the Satie Crematorium with love. Satie's Gnossienne #1 played in the background - the same soundtrack that supported Peter's delightful hand-animated film done while at University in the late 1980s.

A Cawaja memorial will take place at The Cottage in Tiny, Ontario Canada, Saturday August 20, 2022. Visitors shall be embraced as if Peter were there to greet them himself, eating, laughing, enjoying their company.

For other memories please also see the link for the French funeral website in the Memorials section.