Deceased July 30, 2021
View alumni profile (log in required)
In Memory
Mark W. Cannon died on July 30. A native of Tucson, Ariz., he entered Amherst’s class of 1977. We soon became close friends, bonding early at Amherst. He was a wide-ranging, enthusiastic reader of all kinds of books, from fantasy and science fiction to philosophy and literary criticism. He embraced the intellectual dimension of the “Amherst experience.” He also sought to get to know the social dimension of Amherst.
Mark did not finish at Amherst. He dropped out and returned to Tucson. I tried to keep in touch, but we drifted apart. He got his B.A. from the University of Arizona and his M.A. from George Washington University. He developed health problems and was waiting for a heart transplant when he discovered that he was suffering from non-Hodgkins’ lymphoma, the illness that ended his life too soon.
Mark always symbolized what attending Amherst meant. He was one of the best, kindest, most decent people I knew there, and I will cherish his memory.
Richard B. Bernstein ’77