By Emily J. Minor
OCEAN RIDGE — Mary Ellen Cannon, who raised her six children in Michigan and moved to Florida in her later years to golf, garden and give more attention to her love for crafting, died in the care of Hospice of Palm Beach County on March 8 after suffering a stroke.
Until the time of her sudden illness, she remained active with everything she loved, said her daughter, K.T. Cannon-Eger. Mrs. Cannon enjoyed golfing, working in the yard, and she was the consummate craftswoman. “She could stand in front of a store window and sketch the design for a ski sweater and go home and knit it,” K.T. said.
Her daughter said her mother never publicly disclosed her age, always just saying she was “old enough.”
After the couple’s retirement, Mrs. Cannon spent even more time working in the yard — something for which she had an incredible knack.
“My dad called her the Picasso of the garden,” said K.T.
She also loved to travel and would “go anywhere at the drop of the hat,” her daughter said.
Born in Providence, R.I., she graduated from Beverly Hills High School and then attended Stanford University in California. She married George W. Cannon Jr. on St. Patrick’s Day in 1954.
The couple lived in his hometown of Muskegon, Mich., and raised their six children at their home on Mona Lake. After the kids were out of the house, the couple moved to Ocean Ridge in the early 1980s, said Cannon-Eger.
Mrs. Cannon was a member of St. Mark Catholic Church in Boynton Beach and attended Mass several times a week, her daughter said.
Besides her husband, George, survivors include their six children: Cannon-Eger, Christine Cannon Bucher, Kiki Cannon, Carolyn Cannon, George W. Cannon and Timothy James Cannon. She also leaves 12 grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
Mass was said March 13 at St. Mark’s and there will be a service for family and friends in Muskegon later this summer, said her daughter.
Comments