Keith Melvin Warnock

Keith was born February 24, 1958 to Mary and Loren Warnock as the third of four children (Garth, Ann, Keith & Rose). He grew up on the family farm in Iron Springs which cemented his love of farming and agriculture right from the start. From a young age he had displayed a lot of energy and had a natural ability to talk to anyone and everyone, which was evident by his infectious personality.

His passion for farming led him to purchase his own quarter of land when he was only 18 years old with the intention of building a life with a family there one day. He even had planted trees at his father’s place to let them grow and replant them at his own homestead. He made his first step towards this dream when he met Lianne in 1994 at singles dance lessons, and a year and a half later they were married. They built their own house at the farm with the help of a contractor and subsequently raised their three girls there, Dayna, Shelby and Tayler.

But before he had his own children, Keith’s nieces and nephews were the world to him. He even took ladies on “dates” that consisted of playing with and looking after the kids. One time, he and his nephew, Will were fishing at Mcgregor lake. They came across a pelican with a fish hook in its bill and fishing line wrapped around it and was immobile. Keith showed Will how to get the hook out and the fishing line cut away and freed this bird which speaks to Keith’s paternal and supportive nature that he always had from a young age.

In 2005, the family farm was sold, and he always said that “it was like losing his right arm”. It didn’t deter him from following his passion for agriculture. He went back to school to pursue an education in crop science and get his agrology certification. Once he finished his schooling, he worked in various roles over the years finishing his career with BASF as an agronomist. He loved his line of work and the people he had the pleasure of working with. He seemed to take pride in the stories of telling off angry farmers when they didn’t agree with him, followed by a hearty laugh. In 2016 he went to Australia to work for six months to help out with their farming season, and as an expert with both people and canola, he was a perfect fit. He made friends over there that he kept in touch with for the following decade; he clearly made a strong impression on everyone he crossed paths with.

He became a Harley Davidson aficionado later in life, but once he made his mind up about something, that was the end of discussions. He bought his first Harley at 50 years old, and it became his whole personality/wardrobe. Anything outside of his workwear consisted of a Harley t-shirt from places around the world, a well-worn ball cap, Harley jackets, and various other accessories collected and gifted to Keith throughout the years. He loved to get out on the open road with his best friend, Brian and son-in-law, Steven, and said there was nothing like passing through the countryside on a motorbike.

Keith was a loving father who loved to brag about his three girls whenever he had the chance. When their mom was out of town, he spoiled them by packing their school lunches with a coke and a can of smoked oysters, and served meals with potato chips instead of bread. He was truly a kid at heart. He never said “cheese” to pose in photos and instead taught the girls to say “tequila” instead, and bedtime varied each day depending on how many more games he wanted to play before he accepted defeat.

The day he found out he was going to have a grandchild, he instantly knew he wanted to take on the title of Grandad and had been waiting to fulfill that role. He was always able to make Nora laugh with his goofy faces and his captivating personality. Keith will be deeply missed by all his family, but we have plenty of stories to keep his spirit alive for generations to come.

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