Paul Francis Canney

NEW BERN - Paul Francis Canney, age 82, passed away peacefully Saturday, February 25th, in his home in the Carolina Pines community of New Bern.

Mr. Canney was born in Boston , Mass., in October of 1929, the son of John F. and Helen M. (Renberg) Canney. He graduated from Stoneham (MA) High School in 1947 and spent a semester at Boston College. He joined the Regular Army in February 1948 serving four years in the Signal Corps.

After his military service, he enrolled in Harvard College, graduating in 1956 with a degree in economics. Mr. Canney then began a 34-year career in the Foreign Service with the U.S. Department of State. He spent a great majority of his time following political affairs and raising his family at posts in Peru , Mozambique , Finland , Guatemala , Washington , D.C., Sweden and Iceland. In 1974, Mr. Canney earned his Master of Science in International Affairs from The George Washington University and went on to complete studies at The National War College. In his last two posts, Mr. Canney served as the Deputy Chief of Mission and in the absence of the Ambassador, Charge d'affaires – the senior US diplomat in those countries. Mr. Canney then returned to Washington, D.C., where he served as the Director of the Board of Examiners for the Foreign Service until his retirement in 1990. Upon retirement, Mr. Canney continued as a consultant with the U.S. Department of State until 2001.

Mr. Canney was an active supporter of the Carolina Pines community and past president of the Carolina Pines Golf & Country Club. He greatly enjoyed golfing and singing and joking with many friends. He and his wife of 59 years, Ada, continued to enjoy traveling in their retirement, especially to the Florida Keys and Longboat Key, Fla. A lifelong Red Sox fan, Mr. Canney exulted in their finally winning recent World Championships. For the past six years Mr. Canney suffered from Parkinson's Disease which limited his physical activity but certainly not his spirit.

Mr. Canney is predeceased in death by his parents and two younger sisters, Jeanne Tieri and Alice Gibson and is survived by his loving wife, Ada (Hughes); daughter Michelle Canney and Dr. Matthew Thomas of Minocqua, Wis.; daughter Jennifer Miller and husband, Michael, of Old Lyme, Conn.; and son Christopher Canney of Apex, N.C. His greatest joy in recent years was to watch the development of his five grandchildren – Samuel, Joseph, Matthew, John and Maya – "…all prime candidates to be Harvard College freshmen in a few years' time".

A Memorial Mass will be held at 1:30 p.m., Saturday March 3, 2012 at St. Paul's Catholic Church, 3005 Country Club Road , New Bern , NC 28562 . Visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. Friday, March 2, at Cotten Funeral Home, 2201 Neuse Blvd., New Bern, NC 28560.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, (www.michaeljfox.org or Attn: Tribute Gifts, Church Street Station, P.O. Box 780, New York, NY 10008-0780).

Arrangements are by Cotten Funeral Home.