Dennis Gene Cannon

A member of the 1961 and 1962 state-champion Lawrence High School football teams, Dennis later graduated from the University of Kansas with a doctorate in aerospace engineering. He then joined the Boeing Company in 1972 and worked as a manager there, primarily in flight controls, until he retired.

Always a champion and great supporter of others’ goals and dreams, Dennis did what few others would dare and chased a dream of his own — training racehorses at Longacres — while on a two-year break from engineering.

He was an always-hopeful-but-occasionally-disgruntled Mariners and Seahawks fan who loved hunting, fishing, sitting down to a hand of poker, watching a good western movie and, in recent years, cheering on his grandson during baseball and basketball games. Dennis was quick with a joke or a story but always had time to listen. He was the kindest of souls and will be missed terribly by those who love him.

He was preceded in death by his parents and is survived by his daughter, Katie Cannon, son-in-law Doug Miller, and grandson Rowan Miller, all of Issaquah, Washington. Surviving family members also include his brother, Ken Cannon, of Skaneateles, New York, and three sisters: Virginia Kanza of Wichita, Kansas; Connie Snow of Lawrence, Kansas; and Debbie Sink of Ottawa, Kansas; eight nieces and nephews and 12 grand-nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held at Lombardi’s Italian Restaurant, 1620 W. Marine View Dr., Everett, Washington, 98201, from 4-7 p.m. on Friday, June 9.

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to a favorite cancer-research or wildlife charity — or give a $20 to the guy on the corner who is down on his luck and say it’s from Dennis.