Judy Svee Cannon, 83

Judy was born on April 15, 1939, sharing her birthday with her older sister, Irene, in Butte, Mont. — the 10th of 14 siblings to Thomas and Ethyl Morris. She passed away on July 13, 2022. After graduating from high school, she married Jerry Svee, who worked for Western Geophysical Company. It was life on the road — a couple of months here, a couple of months there. While “doodle bugging,” as the work was called, they formed lifelong friendships with other families that would cross her path down the road. When Laurie and Dave came along, they chose to give up the doodle bugging life and settled in Bozeman, where her youngest brother, Mike, joined the family. An employment transfer led them to Coeur d'Alene in 1965 and daughter Kim joined the family in 1968.

Judy started her retail career with Western Auto and, in 1968, went to work at the Fabric Manor. It was here she became an excellent seamstress. Judy became a stay-at-home mom coordinating kids, sports and volunteering schedules. In 1979 Jerry passed away and Judy was faced with working and raising three children, being just 40 years old. We saw her inner strength and determination to make life work. In 1982 Charlie Cannon re-entered our lives having just lost his wife — they were part of our "doodle bugging" family. Charlie and Judy were married in 1982 and created a blended family of seven kids. In 1984 daughter Kim was killed in a car accident and Judy endured the worst thing a parent should have to do, but she became more determined at how important life is. In 1985, Charlie and Judy started Judy's Shoes and Judy's Petites in Cd’A and Spokane. After closing the stores Judy went to work at Bryan Elementary, working as the head custodian, where she loved the faculty and students. During that period, she started gardening and became our dahlia queen averaging 150 plants a year.

To sum up, Judy was pretty tough for such a little person. She filled out pretty big shoes. She always put family first — no matter what. She expected honesty from an individual and you always received it from her. She understood what life meant — she faced struggles and each day overcame them with a strength that was deep into her core. She was there for you whenever you needed her — no matter what. Grandma Svee used to say that you can define a person’s character by how they dealt with adversity. People can either choose to wallow in it and take pity on themselves or they can deal with it and get on with life. She said David, Kim and I came from very good stock because our parents learned how to deal with what life gave us and made the best of the situation. The last sentence she always added was that she wasn’t just talking about our father, that our mother was right there with him — and you know what — she was RIGHT.

Judy was preceded in death by her first husband, Jerry Svee; daughter Kim Svee; son David Svee; husband Charlie Cannon; 13 siblings; numerous nieces and nephews. She is survived by daughter Laurie Thomas; granddaughters Tara (John) Arts, and Amanda Thomas (Neil Ginter); stepdaughter Harri (Steve) Osborn; grandkids Cyrus Osborn and Phoebe Osborn; stepson Stewart Cannon and grandson Garrett Cannon; sister Dorothy Salo; numerous brothers and sisters-in-law; numerous nieces and nephews.

There will be a joint celebration of life for Judy and son David (who passed in April) on Friday, July 29, 2022, at 2 p.m. at Yates Funeral Home — Coeur d’Alene Chapel, 744 N. Fourth St., Coeur d'Alene with a reception to follow at Laurie's home.

Donations may be made to the Kim Svee Scholarship Fund c/o Kootenai Hospital Foundation 2271 W. Ironwood Drive, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814 or Hospice of North Idaho (www.hospiceofnorthidaho.org), 2290 W. Prairie Ave., Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815.

Please visit Judy’s online memorial and sign her guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com