Craig Jerome Fowlow

Craig Jerome Fowlow passed away on July 29, 2024 surrounded by his family after living with Stage 4 prostate cancer since 2020.

Craig was a very special person who was not always aware of the immense positive impact that he had on others. He was his own worst critic – always thinking about how he could be better and do better. His humble, down-to-earth nature was part of what made it so easy for him to build relationships with people that crossed his path. He took a genuine interest in each person he met and with his quick wit and entertaining story-telling abilities, made a lasting impression.

Craig was a very sensitive and compassionate person. He had a strong set of principles, sense of right and wrong, and faith that he would not compromise on. Because of this, Craig would regularly, passionately speak out about any injustices he saw on the news, in politics, religion and in everyday life. 

This carried through to his work-life where he believed strongly that the very challenging profession of policing should be honoured and respected. He showed this passion through his almost 20 year role in the York Regional Police Ceremonial Unit which culminated in him becoming the Commander of the Unit in 2018 until his passing. The Unit is part of his extensive work-family. 

Craig was also curious by nature, with drive and skill to know, understand and retain knowledge on different topics such as history, cosmic evolution, science, among many, many other subjects. In his work-life, spending 17 of 25 years in forensics for York Regional Police, Craig had found his niche and was promoted to Detective in 2014. His accomplishments included, being regarded as the fingerprint expert in the office, being the Bloodstain Pattern Analyst for York Region, and being a member of the Archaeological Forensic Recovery Team. His drive and skill could only be matched by his leadership abilities, to lead his platoon with principled compassion, building deep relationships with each one of his colleagues.

Since his diagnosis of Stage 4 prostate cancer in 2020, Craig became an expert in prostate cancer treatments, passionately advocating for himself in discussions with his medical team. He maintained a determined, positive attitude, never giving in to self pity or feeling sorry for himself. For 4 years he kept working without taking any sort of extended sick leave. 

In his home-life, Craig would talk about his wife, son and other family members whenever he got the chance. His talent for storytelling and quick wit made his stories come alive. As much as he was passionate about his work, Craig was equally as passionate about his family, often speaking about the trips to Niagara that he was looking forward to where his family from Toronto and London could enjoy time together.

Craig has left a lasting impression on all those who knew him. He is survived by his wife Julia Gallo, 6 year old son Mikael, parents Jerry and Cheryl Fowlow (nee Humphries), siblings Deborah (Bruce), Cheri-Leigh, nephews and nieces (Reid, Daniel, Alexandra and Leo), and relatives from the Gallo family including in-laws Santo and Franca, Lina (Dino), and Frank (Vanessa). He will also be fondly forever remembered by his York Regional Police family from the old '5B', the Ceremonial Unit, the Forensic Identification Unit and every other unit with members whose lives have been touched by Detective Craig Fowlow.

In lieu of flowers, a GoFundMe page has been created to contribute to an education fund for Mikael.