Lee Cannon

Lee Cannon, 96, of Lawrence, Indiana, passed peacefully at her home on June 4, 2025, exactly how she wanted to: surrounded by her children and loved ones. Born Lee Chong Soon in Gimpo, South Korea in 1929, and having grown up during the Japanese occupation, her father was a “country doctor” who made house calls via bicycle, often accepting homegrown vegetables as payment for his services. He died when Mrs. Cannon was a young girl. As the oldest of three siblings, she entered the workforce early to help make ends meet for the family. At the time, her mother worked as a housekeeper for a Japanese banker. This relationship led to a job at a bank in the Myeong-dong district of Seoul. Mrs. Cannon lived through the Korean War and met her American serviceman husband, Arnold Cannon, on a military base outside of Seoul in 1951 where she was employed as a payroll clerk. 

In 1959, the couple sailed to the U.S. with three young children in tow and another on the way. They arrived at the Presidio in San Francisco before settling in the Monterey Bay area. In 1973, some five years after Mr. Cannon retired from the U.S. Army, the couple and their four sons moved to Pendleton, Ind. (Their two oldest children, both daughters, remained in California.) Mrs. Cannon and her husband owned and operated the Toast restaurant (now Toast Cafe) in Anderson for nearly 20 years before retiring to California when their son Michael took over the family business. While in her 50s and still in Indiana running the restaurant, Mrs. Cannon earned her beautician’s license from Apex Beauty School in Anderson and enjoyed stints as a hairdresser at JCPenney and BoRics in Indiana, and at a military base hair salon in Fort Ord, Calif. 

She took pride in her appearance and fell in love with American-style clothing (as well as her American husband) after he’d gifted her trunks of garments back in Korea: mostly sweater sets and long, full skirts. He would call her his “Sears Roebuck girl.” White tops, denim, and white leather Ked sneakers became her wardrobe staples. Her closet was full of pieces from Gap, LL Bean, and other American casual apparel companies. She appreciated the practicality, ease and clean aesthetic, all of which suited her no-nonsense personality. After returning to California, the Cannons basked in their golden years, happily residing in a senior community in Salinas where Mrs. Cannon loved to garden, give neighbors perms and haircuts, and lead weekly meetings of a neighborhood knitting club called “The Happy Hookers.” Thanks to earning a certificate from a prominent sewing school in Okinawa where she and her husband lived before moving to the U.S., Mrs. Cannon was a gifted quiltmaker. She crafted well over 100 quilts for family and friends. Baby showers, weddings, birthdays and other special occasions were blessed with a hand-sewn Lee Cannon original. 

Mrs. Cannon was also an active member of her Korean Methodist church in Marina, Calif., where she played the piano for every Sunday service. In 2000, she visited South Korea (her first time back since leaving in the late 1950s) and reunited with her sister after 40 years of separation. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cannon were married for 53 years before Mr. Cannon’s death in 2004. She stayed in Salinas and then San Jose before moving back to Indiana, a full circle moment. She lived in her own apartment in Fort Benjamin Harrison for a few years before moving in with her oldest son and his wife after a health setback. 

She is survived by her children: Lisa Graves (Stephen) and Pearl Abdo (Azzam), both of San Jose, Calif.; John Cannon (Elizabeth) of Lawrence; Michael Cannon (Lisa) of McCordsville; Paul Cannon (Hugo) of Oakland, Calif.; Joseph Cannon (Sarah) of San Diego; 16 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews in both Korea and the U.S. What a lady. What a life! She will be forever missed.