Stephen Foster Cannon

Stephen Foster Cannon passed away peacefully at home in New Orleans on April 27, 2026. He was born on August 13, 1939. He is survived by his three children, Stephen Sean Cannon (Sabine), Charles Weeks Cannon (Laura), and Jennifer Keith Cannon (Jefferey); seven grandchildren, Sarah Cannon Straight (Jason), Laura Cannon, and Cam Cannon (Cecilia), Russell Adelman-Cannon, Diana Paradise, Amelia Paradise, and Ian Paradise; and two great-grandchildren, Paul Straight and Lina Straight; as well as numerous loving cousins, nieces, nephews, and their children. He was preceded in death by his parents, Julius Myrick Cannon and Velma Elizabeth Stephens Cannon; his five siblings, Geraldine Schwarzauer (Bill), Vivian Steele (John), JoAnn Fagin (J.L.), Julius Cannon (Jeannie), and Johnny Cannon (Suk); his first wife, Lana Carol Weeks, and his second wife, Carrell Ann Beasley Cannon; and his grandchild, Belle Brock Adelman-Cannon. He was born and raised in Mobile County, AL. He played football in high school and college and served in the Alabama National Guard, before earning a Bachelors Degree at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS. He spent much of his adult life in New Orleans, where he raised his family and worked at several iconic New Orleans restaurants, including Brennan’s, the Blue Room, T. Pittari’s, and 20 years at Antoine’s. He was active in Civil Rights and labor organizing in Mississippi and New Orleans. He wrote poetry, played guitar, studied languages (Latin, French, and Choctaw), designed and built furniture out of salvaged materials, and created many fanciful costumes, winning the Alpine Bar’s Mardi Gras costume contest on more than one occasion. The family will receive friends on Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 10:00 AM until the 11:00 AM funeral service at St. Thomas Aquinas Church with Father John Coghlan officiating. Burial will follow in St. Thomas Cemetery.