George I. Cannon

George Ivins Cannon was a General Authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as a Seventy from April 6, 1986, to October 5, 1991. He presided over the Central British Mission from 1966 to 1969, and from 1969 to 1972, he served as a counselor in the Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association. From 1993 to 1996 he served as president of the Salt Lake Temple. He also served as a bishop, stake president, patriarch, Regional Representative, and temple sealer. He was twelve years old when he was called to serve as ward organist.

Cannon was born on March 9, 1920, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to George J. Cannon and Lucy Grant Cannon. His maternal grandfather was Heber J. Grant and his paternal grandfather was Abraham H. Cannon, both leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ.

He never knew his Grandfather Cannon, who died in 1896; however, he had a close relationship with his Grandfather Grant, who lived two houses down the street. “Many people called our neighborhood ‘Grantsville’ because President Grant lived there and several of his daughters lived in adjoining homes,” he said. “I knew him very well. I guess I thought of him more as a grandfather than as the president of the Church. It wasn’t until I was on my mission that I realized the importance of his calling in the Church. He baptized me on my eighth birthday and spoke at my missionary farewell.”[1]

Cannon served as a missionary followed by service in the United States Air Force during World War II. He began studying at Brigham Young University in 1946. After his graduation in business, he worked for his entire career with Beneficial Life Insurance Company and eventually became vice president.

He was called to full-time Church service in April 1986 when he was called to serve in the First Quorum of the Seventy. In 1989 he was transferred to the Second Quorum of the Seventy.

Cannon and his wife, Isabel Hales, were the parents of seven children.

He died in Salt Lake City on August 4, 2009.