Ann Alderson Cannon

1933 - 2020

Ann Alderson Cannon
June 27, 1933 - October 3, 2020
Vacaville
Ann Alderson Cannon passed away peacefully at Pacifica Senior Living in Vacaville, California on October 3, 2020. Ann was born in San Diego to Dorothy McNeil Alderson and Winston Towle Alderson, and was a graduate of San Diego High School and San Diego State College (now University) with a degree in English Literature. She embarked on a career as a teacher, working at Mount Miguel High School in the Grossmont Unified High School District in San Diego from 1958 until 1974. She then moved to the Elk Grove area, and later Galt, near Sacramento. She taught in the Elk Grove Unified School District, primarily Joseph Kerr Middle School, from 1975 onward. During her tenure Ann taught both English and ESL. She was active in curriculum development and led the creation of a county-wide ESL program, the first of its kind in San Diego. She retired from full time teaching in 1988 but continued working with special projects and as a substitute teacher for another two decades. Ann loved to help others. To her colleagues she was a great mentor, generous with her time and attention, and her leadership roles reflected her desire to benefit others rather than be in the spotlight. Over the years she was involved in a variety of volunteer work, ranging from orphanages in Tijuana to candy stripers in Elk Grove. Ann marched to the beat of her own drum, an avid reader and lover of art but vigorous and outdoorsy. She cherished riding in the back country of San Diego County and later time on her ranchette in Galt, with her horses and a variety of animals and fruit bearing trees and plants. She enjoyed square dancing, and it was through this that she met her husband William ("Bill") Cannon. They were married from 1979 until his passing in 1995. Ann had a passion for travel and an interest in other cultures, and her innovations in ESL stemmed from this. She was fluent in Spanish and spent extended lengths of time in Mexico and Central America. She is survived by her sister Dorothy Alderson Starkey and brother-in-law Craig, and nieces and nephews Catherine Abbey (Rob) Hodges, Russell Abbey, Anna Abbey, and Miriam Abbey, Scott (Carrie) Starkey, Charles (Nicole) Starkey, and Kirsten Starkey (Todd) Telander, and grand nieces and nephews Clara Hodges (Eric) Zimmerman, McNeil Hodges, Thomas Abbey, Nina Abbey, Miles Telander, Oliver Telander, Madeline Starkey, Abigail Starkey, and Emma Louise Starkey. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband William Cannon, sister Donna Alderson Abbey, and brother-in-law Arlen Laurence ("Laurie") Abbey. Ann was an active member of the Bahá'í community in the Elk Grove area. In accordance with Bahá'í practices she was promptly interred near her place of passing, at Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery, with a graveside service on October 6.