Josephine Emilie Cannon

JOSEPHINE EMILIE (EMILY) CANNON died on Saturday, February 10, in Houston after a brief illness. She had been in declining health in recent years. Born May 26, 1909, to Charles Dupre Augustin and wife, Josephine Antonia Rouse Augustin of New Orleans, Mrs. Cannon grew up in that city and in the Mississippi Delta. Her family had lived in New Orleans since 1811. She early on distinguished herself by being the first (perhaps only) boarding student ever to break out of the Ursuline Convent at its then new location on State Street in New Orleans. In the late twenties, she moved to Houston with her mother and stepfather, Robert Philip, and there met and married Eugene M. Cannon, Jr., formerly of Salt Lake City. She would later give birth to their two children, Toni and Philip, in Houston. In the thirties and forties, Mrs. Cannon lived in small towns in southern Louisiana, where her husband managed local offices of the United Gas Corporation, and in Jacksonville, Texas, where he headed the East Texas Division of that company. In 1954, the family returned to Houston for good when Mr. Cannon took charge of United's Houston Division. Mrs. Cannon will be remembered for her love of life, her kindness, and her keen sense of humor. A lifelong Christian, she was a devoted family member, friend and intercessor; a faithful communicant, avid saltwater fisherman and bridge player; a cook par excellence, tireless volunteer, and long-suffering Astros fan. She loved animals and a good story, and fear was unknown to her. She lived out the belief that faith without works is dead, and she always found a chance to do a good turn, often for strangers. Perhaps because she was not sanctimonious, she made goodness seem attractive. Mrs. Cannon is preceded in death by her parents, stepfather, and husband; her grandchild Annie Van Zandt Attwell; and her sister, Isabel Augustin Aicklen. Survivors include her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Khleber V. Attwell, Jr.; her son and daughter-in-law, Mr. Eugene Philip Cannon and wife, Maurie; grandchildren Dr. Emilie Attwell Becker and husband, Stephen, of Austin; Dr. Khleber Chapman Attwell and wife, Elizabeth, of New York City; Dr. Augustin Rawlins Attwell of Nashville, Tennessee; Eugene Philip Cannon, Jr. and wife, Eleanor, of Houston; and Sarah Cannon Underwood and husband, Duncan, of Houston; five great-grandsons: Isaac Van Zandt Becker, Brock Philip Cannon, Peter Angus Cannon, Austin Duncan Underwood and Nathaniel Seabury Attwell; two great-granddaughters, Antonia Elizabeth Becker and Riley Cannon Underwood; a niece, Mrs. Hays H. Clemens of Erie, Pennsylvania; a nephew and godson, Capt. (ret.) William J. Aicklen, Jr. and wife, Margot, of Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky; and two sisters-in-law, Mrs. Kenneth Cannon of Provo, Utah, and Madge Cannon Larsen of Salt Lake City. No list of family would be complete without mention of Mr. Lee Knauerhaze, faithful friend of Mrs. Cannon, her children, and grandchildren for many years; Ms. Daisy Mourning and daughter, Mary Brimzy, and the staff of Silverado Senior Living, devoted caregivers whose ministrations made Mrs. Cannon's final years so comfortable. Mrs. Cannon's beloved dog, Benny, also survives her. A memorial service celebrating Mrs. Cannon's life will be held at the Chapel of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church at noon on Saturday, February 17. Following cremation, Mrs. Cannon's ashes will be scattered over the waters of the Gulf Coast in accordance with her wishes to be laid to rest in the sea she had so dearly loved for a lifetime. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that anyone wishing to make a donation do so to the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation and Research or to any charity devoted to the care or protection of animals.