Lois Driggs Cannon Aldrin

Lois Driggs Cannon Aldrin died on July 17, 2018 of natural causes in Salt Lake City. She was 88.

She was born to Effie and Douglas H. Driggs on November 2, 1929, just days into the first shockwave of the Great Depression. They were a faithful Mormon family, children of the pioneers. Doug had started Western Savings & Loan with his father and brothers in Phoenix only months before The Crash. They survived. Western grew and Arizona boomed.

Energy. Exuberance. Enthusiasm. Lois played boogie-woogie piano, acted in plays and danced to live swing bands. She was often featured in newspapers. At North Phoenix High they called this petite firecracker "Mighty Mouse." She started college at University of Utah and continued at Stanford, graduating with a BA in education, class of '51. She took nine months out to explore Europe, then got her teaching certificate at UCLA and taught school in Beverly Hills and Palo Alto.

In 1955, Lois married Bryant W. Cannon in the LDS temple in Mesa, Arizona. They spent the next decade in Europe where he worked for IBM and ITT and she gave birth to two daughters. Then it was Arizona, where a son was born. Lois was a great mom and an amazing wife. They finally anchored in Emerald Bay, Laguna Beach for the rest of their 27 years together.

Lois' next chapter began when she met Buzz Aldrin in 1985. In the first years after they married in 1988, unexpected challenges emerged. Lois never surrendered. She empowered her husband and he showed, once again, his historic resilience. He had served in Korea as a fighter pilot and in the Gemini and Apollo programs as an astronaut. They capitalized on his achievements in a business they built together as he promoted his vision of a sky without limits. He preached the gospel of exploration and discovery. She kept the trains running.

They were a great team for 24 years, but it didn't last forever. Lois used to say, "Life doesn't always give you what you want. The key is making the most of what you have. Every day when you wake up you can choose to be happy." Energy. Exuberance. Enthusiasm. That's Lois.

Lois is survived by her three children, Lisa Cannon of Salt Lake City, Brynn Cannon of Los Angeles and Bryant Cannon, and her siblings, Gary Driggs and Anne Driggs Christensen of Paradise Valley, Arizona. A private memorial celebration will be held this fall. To send condolences: InMemoryOfLois@gmail.com">InMemoryOfLois@gmail.com">InMemoryOfLois@gmail.com">InMemoryOfLois@gmail.com

In lieu of flowers, donations may be to LDS Charities: www.ldscharities.org or Stanford University: giving.to.Stanford@Stanford.edu">giving.to.Stanford@Stanford.edu">giving.to.Stanford@Stanford.edu">giving.to.Stanford@Stanford.edu