Sandra Cannon's Obituary
Sandra Jean Cannon, 81, of Frederick, MD, passed away unexpectedly on Friday morning, January 24, 2025.
Sandy was born in Washington, DC, on May 18, 1943 to Margaret J. Duvall and Percy C. Duvall. She loved growing up in the District and made many lifelong friends there. It is also where she met her husband of 45 years, Joseph A. Cannon Jr., who preceded her in death in 2007.
Always passionate about helping people, she became a certified X-ray technician following her graduation from Woodrow Wilson High School. After her marriage and move to North Carolina for Joseph’s Marine Corps service, she put the brakes on that budding career as the first of her two children came along. On returning to the DC area with Joe, daughter Karen Cannon, and son Mike Cannon, Sandy re-entered the workforce, first with Geico Insurance, and then as a secretary at the American Red Cross and then Aspen Systems. She later worked her way up from Executive Assistant at Aspen Systems to Acquisitions Editor at Aspen Publishers (later Wolters Kluwer), and Associate Director for Acquisitions at the American Pharmacists Association (APhA).
In 2004, Sandy and Joe moved to Frederick, where she became active with Frederick Presbyterian Church (FPC). She became an elder and a deacon, made many new friends, and–along with her only sister Barbara Ann Nolte, who passed away on January 1, 2023–loved helping out with Open Door, the Frederick Rescue Mission, and many other activities. She retired from APhA in 2011 and shortly thereafter began helping out and having fun with her new grandson, John Cannon, much to the delight of Mike and his wife (also named Karen). With John at her side, her favorite past-time of reading took on a whole new dimension. Perhaps to balance out all the picture-book reading, she went ahead and got a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from St. Joseph’s College of Maine in 2008.
In addition to doting on her dogs Meghan, Barkley, Libby, and Pepper, Sandy also loved traveling and enjoyed trips to Ireland, England, Italy, and Greece with her family and with her friends from FPC. Perhaps because of the role FPC played in her life, she also became a Certified Pastoral Thanatologist in 2013 to help others through grief and loss.
The funeral service will be held on Friday, February 7, 2025 at Frederick Presbyterian Church, 115 W 2nd Street, Frederick, MD at 11:00 a.m.
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