James G. Cannon ’37

Modest Jim Cannon, with a lifetime of achievements, died Jan. 11, 1992. His charitable endeavors would fill this page, so it was no wonder he was named Man of the Year in 1965 both by the Charlotte News and the Charlotte Rotary Club. Three of his foremost accomplishments were serving as chairman of the board of managers of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Hospital Authority for 18 years, through an era of extraordinary growth — 350 beds to 810 — and sophistication (its new research center is named in his honor); in 1957 breaking the United Way record of a million dollars; and in 1967 expanding United Community Services. He was a trustee of various colleges and schools, as well as the Y.M.C.A., Presbyterian Home, Girl Scouts, Speech and Hearing Center, and Nature Museum, and he was director of numerous corporations.

At Lawrenceville Jim participated in orchestra, tennis, and choir. At Princeton he majored in economics, took second group honors, and was secretary-treasurer of Elm. After taking a business degree at Harvard, he worked as a cotton mill hand, a salesman for a cloth selling company, and as an industrial specialist in textile research for Uncle Sam. Next came the Army, where he rose from private to captain and served overseas in France and Belgium as textile procurement officer, being sent '37 PAW columns as clipped by his faithful wife. After the war his prominence in the textile field continued, and he became V.P. of Southeastern Factors Corp.

Jim and his wife, Bobby, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last year, presumably attended by sons Jim and Martin, daughter Sally Saussey, and eight grandchildren.

The Class salutes a great achiever.

The Class of 1937