As a child, Joe Cannon came to age on his family’s farm in rural East Missouri. It was there, where he was free to roam through fields and forest, explore creeks, rivers and lakes, that his love and understanding of nature took root. Aside from his love of family, this would prove to be the most important and enduring part of his life.
As an adult, Joe served his country in the United States Army, returning to the East Missouri land he loved so much. He was a man of many interests, and never on a superficial level.
He immersed himself in the things that caught his attention. Among these were fishing, mushroom hunting, rebuilding and riding motorcycles, and playing, restoring, and building guitars and other musical instruments. He also had a large online presence and friends in many parts of the world.
It was through the latter that he became friends with Farm resident C.R. Cheney. Joe had lived for the last ten years of his life on a 145 acre easement as the caretaker.
Joe was enthusiastic about the Swan Trust and hoped to visit The Farm and the Swan. He shared that enthusiasm with his father Bill who would eventually visit The Farm and become a Swan Trust supporter. Unfortunately, Joe passed from this world on November 14, 2014. He was 50 years old.
It was his father who had the idea to start this memorial. “The most important part of Joe’s life was the natural world and protecting it. He’d be so pleased to know that he had contributed a small part of the effort to saving the headwaters of the Swan Creek.”