Thomas James Cannon

Preceded in death by parents CP and Ella Cannon; siblings Dale, Jerry, Donna, and Pat, and wife Kathy.

Survived by children, Lynne (Todd Hermann), Kevin, Heather, grandson Christopher, sister Colleen, sister-in-law Toni, many nieces and nephews, first wife, Donna, and special pet dog, Emmitt.

Born March 4, 1939, in Hallock (located in extreme NW MN), his family later relocated to Mankato, where he graduated high school and earned a bachelor’s degree and teacher’s license from Mankato

State College.

As an educator, Tom influenced students’ love of history, and the enjoyment of acting in plays that he directed. He taught speech and social studies in junior and senior high schools in several MN towns— first in Forest Lake, then Elmore, Caledonia (in SE MN--the extreme opposite corner of MN from Hallock), Cannon Falls, Austin, Hutchinson, and Fridley.

While teaching in Caledonia, he earned advanced certification in Special Learning and Behavior Problems (SLBP) at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He pioneered that program in Caledonia,

and then expanded his licensure with training at Hazelden Center for students with chemical dependency.

He finished his teaching career in the field of Alternative Education, beginning in Austin. He dedicated some 15 years as lead teacher and manager of the Hutchinson Alternative High School program, and in that timeframe, dramatically expanded enrollment from 29 students to 300. Based upon that success, he was recruited by Fridley schools to establish and direct its alternative program. Tom also served on the board of MN Association of Alternative Programs.

Tom was an avid outdoorsman and loved hiking and camping in state parks, birding, XC skiing. He completed at least two (53K) Birkebeiner XC ski races in Wisconsin, and biked 2,000 miles one

summer. He was deservedly proud of completing 8 marathons, both the Twin Cities event and Grandma’s in Duluth.

An avid protector of the environment, he inspired observation of the first annual Earth Day in Elmore. He challenged students to both pick up and count pieces of litter and trash within their community,

using it as a learning experience.

Tom volunteered for community projects in every town in which he lived. After retiring to Texas, he undertook the most challenging of all. A large explosion had devastated part of the town of West, and

he pitched in with the cleanup and restoration of the community.

Sincere thanks to the wonderful care by staffs at Sholom Home West and Sholom Johnson Hospice, and to Rabbi Bell who delighted Tom by singing favorite songs by Simon and Garfunkle.