Dorothy Cannon, senator's widow, dies

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Dorothy Pace Cannon, widow of former Nevada Sen. Howard Cannon, died Sunday after a long illness. She was 88.

Cannon, a native of Alamo, Nev., attended business school in Los Angeles and met her future husband in his hometown of St. George, Utah, in 1936. They were married in 1945 shortly after his return from World War II service.

Cannon was active in Las Vegas service clubs prior to her husband's first U.S. Senate victory in 1958. She helped to organize President Kennedy's 1961 birthday celebration, christened a Navy ship in 1963, and accompanied Sen. Cannon on numerous round-the-world trips.

After Sen. Cannon's 1982 defeat, the couple lived in suburban Virginia and returned to Las Vegas in 1993. Sen. Cannon died March 6, 2002.

Survivors include a daughter, Nancy Cannon Downey, and son Alan Howard Cannon; sister Sydney Hedger; and five grandchildren.

A funeral service is planned later this week at Palm Mortuary in Green Valley.