Clarissa Jean Mann Piner Cannon

Clarissa Jean Mann Piner Cannon, 93, peacefully passed away in Huntsville on April 6, 2022, surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Newport, North Carolina, on July 23, 1928, as the third child to her parents Romie (R.A.) and Eva Taylor Mann. After her father passed away, her mother married Glenn Adams, and the family moved to Broad Creek.

Clarissa graduated from Morehead City High School in 1947. While in high school, she enjoyed cheerleading, the Library Club, and the Home Economics Club. As a teen, she managed two jobs—one as a waitress at the Sanitary Fish Market & Restaurant and the other as a school bus driver.

She married John R. Piner, Jr.; of Newport, North Carolina, on June 5, 1947. While John served as a navigator in the U.S. Air Force, they moved often as duty called to different parts of the country. They eventually settled in Huntsville, Alabama, in 1958, when John accepted a mathematician/data analyst position with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA). He soon transferred to NASA and continued there until he retired. Clarissa, or Butch, as John and many friends called her, provided secretarial services for the Marshall Space Flight Center and later served H & R Block and Houston Masey as a tax preparer. Clarissa and John were blessed with two longed-for sons who were great joys to them: John Rodney and Steven Ray.

Clarissa was effervescent; she lived with a palpable zeal and zest for life. She championed a positive outlook her entire life. She was creative, resourceful, encouraging, and cleverly witty and humorous. She rarely met a stranger. Through the years, she enjoyed playing golf, bowling, traveling/cruising, boating, RV camping, floral arranging, decorating, and ballroom dancing.

Clarissa was a devoted wife and mother. She poured her life into serving her family, neighbors, and the community. One of her first volunteer positions was as a Den Mother for the boys’ Cub Scout Program. Beginning in 1971, she also served the Huntsville Woman’s Club for over 23 years, presiding as HWC President and many other offices. In addition, she served as President of the AFWC Board of Directors and District 1 Director of the AFWC. One of her passions was serving as the Chair of the Annual Fashion Show Luncheon which benefitted the Meals on Wheels Program. She also served on the Huntsville-Madison County Senior Center Board of Directors. She was passionate about fundraising for scholarships, charities, and non-profit organizations such as Manna House.

Some of Clarissa and John’s favorite family memories included their regular camping trips. They began camping in a tent and eventually upgraded to a motorhome after retirement. Their longest trip was a three-month summer adventure. They traveled throughout the Western United States and Canada, visiting the Pacific Coast and most of the western national parks.

Clarissa and John were married for 44 years before John’s passing in 1991. After Clarissa attended her 47th Morehead City High School Reunion in 1994, she became reacquainted with a former classmate, Larry Cannon. They were married in 1995, and Clarissa moved back to Morehead City. She gained a new family of love when she joined the Cannon clan. Larry’s grown children, Ronnie and Barbara Ann, and their families and extended families “adopted” her with open arms. She embraced them into her heart, too. Larry became Papa Larry, a beloved granddad, to Joshua and Jenna Marie.

Clarissa and Larry enjoyed regular excursions to the Outer Banks and beyond on the Cannonball (Larry’s sportfishing boat) until Clarissa convinced Larry to investigate the RV life. Soon, they joined a camping club, and they were traveling the United States in their Allegro Bus. Throughout the years, they visited 48 states, Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. All who knew them could testify they were having the time of their lives. After Larry passed away in 2009, Clarissa chose to remain in Morehead City since she had established such a rich life there. She moved back to Huntsville in December of 2020 to be close to her Huntsville family again.

While in Morehead City, one of her special hobbies and main social events was joining her regular bingo buddies for organized bingo several times per week where she routinely played about 50 cards per night. She was affectionately nicknamed the Bingo Queen.

Soundview Original Free Will Baptist Church in Newport, NC, was her home church for over two decades. She placed her trust in Jesus Christ as her Savior for eternal salvation in a service at the original church building when she was 16 years old and was baptized in the creek.

She is survived by her son, John Rodney Piner and his wife, Kim, and their children, Joshua Ryan and Jenna Marie; son, Steven Ray Piner and his wife, Wendy, and Wendy’s children, Michelle Robinson (Eric and their five children), Matt Matoff, and Melissa Matoff; stepson, Ronnie Cannon and his wife, Patty, and their daughter Cacey, and Patty’s sons Jeremiah and Eric; stepdaughter, Barbara Ann Cannon Miller and her husband, Vance, and their son, Vance, Jr. She adored her treasured grandchildren, and they cherished her. She was known affectionately as Granny Butch to grandson Joshua and granddaughter Jenna Marie. She was fondly called Grandma by granddaughter Cacey. She will also be missed by many cherished nieces and nephews, including Twila Bryant (Greg); Rex Mann (Sheila); Sharon Bedsworth (George); Jo Ann Neith (Bill); Maurice Mann (Irene); Stephanie Adams Webb (Nathan); Kent Adams (Katie); and Jennifer Adams Harstine (Brett); and precious friends, including the Mark Cope (Alison) family, and her new friends at Fleming Farms Independent Living.

Clarissa was preceded in death by her first husband, John Piner, Jr.; second husband, Larry Cannon; father, Romie Mann; mother, Eva Taylor Mann Adams; stepfather, Glenn Adams; brother, Larose Mann (Evelyn); brother, Preston Mann (Gloria); stepbrother, Marlon Adams (survived by Jo Ann); and stepgrandson, Donovan.

The family will receive friends for visitation from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 24, 2022, at the Valhalla Funeral Home Celebration Chapel. The Celebration of Life Service for Clarissa will follow at 2:00 p.m., officiated by the Reverend Tom Bougher. She will be laid to rest at Valhalla Memory Gardens immediately following the service.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations to: Manna House, ATTN: Business Office, P. O. Box 1991, Huntsville, AL 35807 or online at www.mymannahouse.com. Please mark memo as: “In Memory of Clarissa Piner Cannon.” Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.valhallafunerals.com for the Piner/Cannon families.