DR. DONALD CANNON

DR. DONALD CANNON Dr. Donald Cannon died on August 13, 2025 in Lee's Summit, Missouri after a brief illness. Donald Charles Cannon was born in Independence, Missouri on November 14, 1934 to Mary Elizabeth Cannon, an elementary school teacher, and Charles Cannon, later a supervisor of maintenance at Union Station Kansas City and a Freemason of high degree. He survived a sister Katherine Elizabeth Cannon. Don Cannon grew up in Independence on a small farm and graduated from William Chrisman High School in 1952. He was a proud Eagle Scout and member of ROTC. He travelled with his family around Missouri and the western United States. Both his parents encouraged Don's academic excellence. He attended Harvard College on scholarship and graduated in 1956. The tragic passing of his sister Katherine may have played a role in his applying to medical schools. He completed his MD degree at the University of Chicago in 1960 and completed an internship at UCLA in 1961. Don finished his residency in pathology and earned his Ph.D. in Immunopathology at the University of Chicago in 1963. He served as an infectious disease fellow at UNC Chapel Hill from 1964-1965. He started his formal academic medical career as Assistant Professor of Pathology at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse from 1965-1968. He served at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland from 1968-1970. He became Medical Director of BioScience Laboratories in Los Angeles and helped that company chart a course of modernization. Dr. Cannon was one of the developers of immunofluorescence assays in the United States. He became one of the leading clinical toxicologists in the United States and wrote a textbook in that field that went through multiple editions. After BioScience Labs was acquired by Dow Chemical, he decided to re-enter academic medicine by becoming Chairman of Pathology at the University of Texas at Houston from 1974-1982. Donald left the field of Pathology to retrain in Internal Medicine; he completed a medical residency from 1984 1987 at the University of Kansas at Wichita and was the oldest player on the residents' softball team. He finished his medical career by working in small town practices including in Pocahontas, Arkansas and Minden, Louisiana, trading good-natured barbs with other professionals in town. His skill at diagnosis was remarkable; his aim in care was to combine the excellence of a modern big city hospital with the honest values and common sense of a small town doctor. Dr. Cannon also worked for the Indian Health Service in multiple states, and considered the experience a fitting capstone to his medical career. Donald's first marriage, to Carol Sauer of St. Louis in 1958, produced 4 children: Nancy Yelle of Baytown, Texas, who predeceases him; Barbara and husband Andrew Szanton of Newton, Massachusetts; Gregory and wife Coralie of Cary, North Carolina, and Thomas and wife Michele of Springfield, Missouri. He is also survived by 4 grandchildren: Benjamin Szanton, Elizabeth Szanton, Wyatt Cannon and Eliott Cannon. Taking his family out to lunch or dinner was a frequent practice which he did with quiet relish. Long after the end of his first marriage, Don was reacquainted with Delores Bruch Cannon at their 40th reunion of William Chrisman High School. They were married in 1992. At the end of their careers they moved to retire in Lee's Summit, Missouri. After a prolonged illness, Delores died in 2012. In his last years, Don enjoyed a loving partnership with another friend from high school, Judith Beatie of Lee's Summit. She has continued to provide love and support for Don after his move to the Silverado Lee's Summit Memory Care Community. While at Silverado, Don received outstanding care from its skilled and caring staff, as well as from Ascend Hospice. As a boy, Donald was a great lover of travel around North America and, in particular, of camping. He enjoyed work on the railroads around Kansas City during the summers of high school and college. He also enjoyed observing wildlife, listening to classical music, traveling and camping with his children. A true lover of the outdoors and nature, he could recite the Latin names of almost any plant in the state of Missouri. He had a love of Southwestern Indian culture. He also enjoyed woodworking and gardening. He was an avid reader and consumer of knowledge and a knowledgeable and sometimes caustic observer of the political scene with an excellent sense of humor. Don's greatest joy was the pride he had in his children and grandchildren. A visitation will be held on August 19th, 2025 from 5:00pm to 7:00pmlocated at Newcomer's Noland Road Chapel. A funeral service will be held on August 20th, 2025 at 10:00am located at Newcomer's Noland Road Chapel, followed by a graveside service at Mt. Washington Cemetery.