James R. Canning

He was born on October 20, 1942 in Arlington, VA, with family roots in Brookville, PA. He graduated from Mineola, NY High School in 1960. James later lived in Newport, RI and moved to Rochester, NY to attend the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1988. James graduated from RIT/NTID with a Bachelor of Fine Arts - Painting/Illustration in 1993. He played the saxophone in the NTID Combo and Timestompers Bands.

James’ passions included bicycling, chemistry, oil painting, illustration and computer imaging, woodworking small furniture with unique woods, target shooting in pistol and sporterifle leagues, writing and reading poetry, binding blank books by hand, watching Buffalo Bills football, and astronomy-- specifically astrophotography.

James was a member of the Astronomy Section, Rochester Academy of Science, (ASRAS) and he enjoyed the camaraderie with the members tremendously. He enjoyed capturing multiple images of deep space objects with his telescope at the observatory in Ionia and at home, and processing them digitally into composite photos. He was proud of his work and loved the visual as well as technical aspects of astrophotography. A few of his images are here: https://www.astrobin.com/users/JamesRC/

During the 1980’s and early 1990’s, James expressed himself through painting. Some of his paintings were presented in art shows and are captured on a website of deaf art at RIT https://deaf-art.org/profiles/james-canning/

He was fond of Buttons the cat, calling him names like fuzz-face and rubber-doot.

James is survived by Judy Elder, long time companion. He is also survived by his sister, Lillian Jane Waugh of Holly Springs, MS, brother-in-law, Leo Horacek of Morgantown, WV, and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Mary and James H. Canning, and his sister, Cora Sue Horacek. James will be missed by his family and friends, including the Elder family.

No services will be held.

If you would like to make a donation in James’ memory, you might consider the astronomy club

ASRAS

PO Box 20292

Rochester, NY 14602

or to support research that James was particularly interested in

https://www.faustmanlab.org/donate/

MGH Immunobiology Laboratory

Attn: Dr. Denise Faustman

Massachusetts General Hospital-East

Building 149, 13th Street, CNY-3601

Charlestown, MA 02129

or a charity of your choice.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.alvahhalloranandson.com for the Canning family.