Charlotte Lee Cannon's Obituary
Charlotte Lee Cannon, 93, passed away peacefully at home on October 18, 2014. She was born in Wilmington, Delaware on July 25th, 1921, one of three children of the late Maurice D. and Geraldine S. Lee.
Her Father, a life-long employee of the Du Pont Company, moved several times during his career. She spent her early years in Buffalo, New York, eventually settling in Greenwich, Connecticut where she graduated from The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury in 1939. On a trip to Wilmington, she met Henry P. Cannon, II from Bridgeville whom she married on June 17, 1941. Upon returning from the war, she and Henry set about renovating the house on the Dale Farm, just north of Bridgeville, where they lived happily together for 52 years until his death in 1994.
Though busy raising three children, she soon became involved in the newly opened Nanticoke Memorial Hospital in Seaford where she became one of the first members of the auxiliary and served on the Board of Directors for over forty years. She organized and ran a benefit horse show in Seaford for twenty one years, and then helped start and run the annual spring hospital dinner and auction which continues to this day; her beautiful needlepoint work was always a popular auction item. She was also frequently seen volunteering in the gift shop at the hospital and at Life Care at Lofland Park. At the First Annual Nanticoke Tribute Dinner in November of 2005, she received The Founders Award for her half century of dedication and service to the hospital.
She became the first female member of the Board of Directors of Delmarva Power & Light in 1977 and served for ten years. When the Delaware Department of Transportation announced plans for a new east-west limited access highway across the county to facilitate summer beach traffic, she helped organize and run the citizens group, SOSC (Save Our Sussex County), to oppose the new road and to offer viable alternatives using existing roads. Due to extensive opposition from many local businesses and landowners, the proposal was eventually withdrawn by DelDOT. She received the Community Citizen Award from the Henlopen Grange in 1992 for her work with SOSC.
The family wishes to extend their sincere gratitude to Compassionate Care Hospice and Griswold Home Care for their kind, supportive and dedicated caregivers in her home at the end of her life.
She is survived by her two sons, Henry P. Cannon, III (Cora) of Jacksonville, Florida and Maurice L. Cannon of Lewes, Delaware; her daughter, Katharine D. Cannon of Lewes; five grandchildren; three great-grandsons; and, her brother, Maurice D. Lee of Cranbury, New Jersey.
A Memorial service will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 at 11:00 AM at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 2 Williams Street, Bridgeville, DE where friends may visit beginning at 10 AM. Burial will be private. Arrangements are being handled by Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Hardesty Chapel, Bridgeville, DE
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions in Charlotte’s memory to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church P. O. Box 92, Bridgeville, DE 19933 or Nanticoke Health Services Foundation 121 South Front Street, Seaford, DE 19973.
Please sign Mrs. Cannon's online guestbook at this site.
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