John Kemper Cannon, a prominent lay leader of the Episcopal Church, died in Fort Myers, Florida after suffering a stroke in his Sanibel Island home at the age of 69.
Cannon held tremendous influence and guidance with the General Convention of the Episcopal Church for a quarter of a century. He was a deputy of the General Convention from the Diocese of Michigan from 1976-1991 and also a parliamentarian of the House of Deputies from 1979 to 2000. He was also a member of the president of the House of Deputies’ Council of Advice in 1979 and chancellor to the president of the House of Deputies from 1994. He was a member of Executive Council from 1973-1985 and chaired several committees, including Social Responsibility in Investment, National Mission in Church and Society, and the Location Committee for Episcopal Church Center from 1982-1985. He also served on the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop, the Joint Committee on Planning and Arrangements for the 1994 General Convention, the Committee on the State of the Church, the Standing Committee on Structure, the Presiding Bishop's Committee on the Ordination of Women, and the Joint Committee on Nominations. He also held numerous positions in the Diocese of Michigan
"John Cannon's work and ministries had a profound impact nationally on the well-being of clergy and church lay professionals and their loved ones and survivors," said the Rev. Donald Fishburne, rector of Saint Michael and All Angels Church, Sanibel, Florida.
"John Cannon was the quintessential church leader," said the Rev. George L.W. Werner, president of the House of Deputies. "Yet he always couched his leadership in terms of servant to the church. We shall miss him terribly. "
By Tony C.
