John Cannon Jr.

1930 - 2019

John Cannon died on Sept. 6, 2019, in Anchorage, Alaska, from complications due to heart disease, at the age of 88.
He was born on Dec. 16, 1930, in St. Louis, Mo., and was the only child of John and Elizabeth Marie Cannon. John lost his father in a military airplane crash in 1944, and he served in the Army Air Force during the Korean War. He then went to Kansas State University, where he graduated as a civil engineer.
John married Ann Cannon on Jan. 8, 1965, and they remained married for the rest of his life. John gained employment at the Alaska Highway Department and in July 1966, John, Ann and two sons that John had from a previous marriage - to Janice Keller - moved from Webster Groves, Mo., to Anchorage. After leaving the Highway Department, he worked on many construction projects including the Alaska pipeline, and many commercial developments about Anchorage.
John received his master's degree in arctic engineering from the University of Alaska Anchorage, which took him to places like Antarctica, where he was an engineering manager, and to Barrow, Alaska, where he was instrumental in designing a sewer system. He was the city engineer for Anchorage for a while and he served as a President of the Alaska Society of Professional Engineers.
John enjoyed being out in the wilderness where he could commune with nature and he homesteaded a five-acre lot across Knik Arm on Lake Cannutti. He was also a fine singer and whistler, a masterful chess player, and he enjoyed many activities such as playing bridge and doing crosswords.
John is preceded in death by his parents; he is survived by his wife of 54 years, Ann Cannon of Anchorage; his sons Scot Cannon and Carl Cannon, both living in western Washington; and by two grandchildren, John Cannon and Krystia Svendsen, both living in western Washington. He is also survived by numerous cousin nieces and nephews. John and his wife also opened their home to people they knew who needed a place to stay and helped many others in charitable ways. He will be remembered by his family and friends as a man who pursued goodness and decency with his generous spirit and loving heart. He will be especially missed by his wife, his sons and their families, Rick Tracy, and Marta, Christopher and Kevin Tuck.
John Cannon has gone on to the reward he earned in life and has vast new horizons to explore.
A visitation will be held at Janssen's Evergreen Memorial Chapel, 737 E Street in Anchorage, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2019, at 11 a.m. John will be laid to rest at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery at 1 p.m.