Robert Nelson Cann

Robert “Bob” Nelson Cann, Sr. was born in Crossett, Arkansas to Our Own Williams Cann and Seth Robert Cann on March 4, 1915. Bob was underweight when he was born and so his mother affectionately gave him the nickname “Wee Wee.” Days after he was born, Our Own moved Bob and his older brother, Alexander Cann, to Monroe, Louisiana where he lived until he was school age. Our Own was a prominent elementary school teacher in Monroe, having received her college degree from Louisiana Negro Normal Training School (now Grambling University). Seth was a farmer, ran a sawmill, and was a porter. His grandparents were evangelists in a Holiness church.

Bob remained in Monroe for a few years with Our Own and then moved to St. Louis, Missouri to live with his father. He attended Dumas Elementary School and Vashon Junior High School in St. Louis. His junior high school was across the street from the field where the St. Louis Stars (Negro League Baseball) played. He remembered that he and his classmates would stand on stacks of books to watch the baseball games from the windows of their classrooms.

Bob and his father moved back to Little Rock for his high school years. Bob was in one of the first classes of the newly established Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. Upon graduating high school, he enrolled in Dunbar Junior College where he majored in the Sciences, though he also had a passion for the arts and enrolled in a number of drama and rhetoric classes. In these courses, he developed his characteristic deep, strong voice, one of his most distinguishing features.

After completing Dunbar Junior College, Bob enrolled in Xavier University. He completed a Bachelor of Science in 1939, focusing on Science and Math. Founded less than a decade before his matriculation, many of the buildings were constructed during his tenure at Xavier. While at Xavier, Bob was Baptized and received both First Communion and the Sacrament of Confirmation at local Catholic churches. While at Xavier, he also pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. on May 21, 1938. With 83 years of service to Alpha, Bob was likely one of the oldest and longest tenured Alpha brothers.

After graduating from Xavier, Bob worked in Little Rock and then later in New Orleans in local jobs at a hotel, bakery, and grocery store. After President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Selective Service Training Act requiring that men between the ages of 21 and 35 register for military duty, Bob enlisted in 1941. He completed his basic training at Camp Funston at Fort Riley in Kansas. He was with Troop F in the 10th Cavalry, one of the esteemed Buffalo Soldier regiments. Their motto was “Ready and Forward.” During his early years in the military, he qualified for Officer Training School and subsequently was assigned leadership roles such as Quartermaster Supply Officer.

His staging for D-Day included Scotland and England, serving the 3rd Army under General Eisenhower. One of the highlights of his military career was serving during the Battle of the Bulge. Following his discharge in 1945, Bob continued to serve in the Reserve Corp and advanced to the rank of Captain.

In 1945, Bob married Dorothy Cox in Kansas City, Missouri. Dorothy was a fellow soldier who served in the 6888th Central Postal Battalion overseas during World War II. The couple moved to Harlem, New York and, to this union, Robert Nelson Cann, Jr. was born in 1947. Though Bob and Dorothy separated in 1954, they tried to reconcile several times before finally separating in 1963. Bob remained in New York for over seventy years.

In New York, Bob worked for the Veteran Administration from 1946 to 1948 and then Railway Mail Service from 1948 until his retirement when he was honored for his decades of service. In 1967, Bob began his long and distinguished career as an educator, working at Public School 158 in Brooklyn as a substitute teacher while pursuing a certificate in teaching. With his strong presence, lofty expectations and deep belief in the potential of Black children, he was later officially appointed as the Assistant Principal at P.S. 158. There he met fellow teacher, Carolyn Johnson, and her toddler daughter, April Johnson, in 1968. Together Bob and Carolyn raised April who, after a day of playing in the snow together, looked at Bob and said, “Thanks, Daddy!”   The family of Bob, Carolyn and April remained together until July 12, 2021, their loving relationship spanning fifty years.

Bob was both a life-long teacher and life-long learner. He was compassionate, fun, and funny. He always focused on the positive and was known to encourage everyone he met. Bob was a champion for equality and justice, a steadfast advocate for Black men and women. He had a strong work ethic and was dependable with thoughtful foresight and an amazing recall for facts and details. He had an impeccable sense of fashion and stayed fit by walking (taking his “morning constitutional”), well into his 90’s. His loving care for his mother, who lived to the age of 98, inspired all who witnessed it.

Bob died on July 12, 2021, in the presence of his beloved grandson, Bryce Jordan Bristow. The memorial service will be held on Friday, July 23, 2021, at 11:00 am at First United Methodist Church in Richardson, Texas. Rev. Dr. April Johnson Bristow will officiate. Military Honors will be at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

Bob is survived by wife, Carolyn Johnson, daughter, April Johnson Bristow, grandson, Bryce Jordan Bristow, son, Robert Nelson Cann, Jr. and his wife, Almira Wilson Cann, granddaughters Colette Nkoyi Cann and Andrea Adeja Our Own Cann Chandrasekher and her husband, Madhav Chandrasekher, and great grandchildren Salihah Dorothy Cann-Polentz, Jai Amari Cann Chandrasekher, Roshan Ayodele Cann Chandrasekher, and Asha Meera Anaya Cann Chandrasekher.

If desired memorial contributions may be made in Bob’s name to either: Caring Ministry at First UMC Richardson, 503 North Central Expressway, Richardson, Texas 75080 or United Negro College Fund for Xavier University, 1805 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20001.