Lori F. Cannon

Service : Private Service

Interment:
Shalom Memorial Park
1700 W. Rand Road
Arlington Heights

Shiva Information

Shiva is private

Contributions
In lieu of flowers and cash donations, please consider making donations to Groceryland: 5543 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640 (773) 871-7610 Include that your contribution is in honor of Lori Cannon.
· Aldi Gift Cards
· Canned and Dry Goods (volume of the same item is a big help)
· Toilet Paper, Toiletries (soap/body wash, shampoo, lotion, tampax, shaving)

Turn grief into fuel, Lori wants us to keep up the fight:
· Volunteer at your local pantry
· Organize a drive for toilet paper and toiletries
· Demand dignity and healthcare for all
· Speak up when it’s uncomfortable
· Love louder

Lori Cannon, 74, passed away on August 3, 2024 after a brave fight of pancreatic cancer.

“Lori Cannon was a true ally in Illinois from her organizing days to founding Open Hand Chicago – she led the way with chutzpah and humor” Governor JB Pritzker

“I entered Ms. Cannon’s story into the Congressional Record so every American can celebrate her life, her work, and her dedication to the LGBTQ+ community.” Congressman Mike Quigley

Lori Cannon, Chicago’s AIDS angel and a driving force behind Chicago’s response to the AIDS crisis for 40 years, died at home Sunday, August 3 of congenital heart failure after a concurrent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Lori was 74.

The caretaker of the universe

Lifelong Chicagoan, Lori Cannon, was born in the Ravenswood neighborhood on May 22, 1951, and grew up in West Rogers Park. Her teen years in the 60s were defined by helping her parents Bluma, a homemaker, and Lee, a film animation executive who traveled frequently to the west coast, to care for both of her brothers. Younger brother J.H. was born with blue baby syndrome, and was treated by Dr. Willis Potts, who developed what became known as the Potts shunt. was able to graduate 8th grade, but died at age 14 from complications. During this time, her older brother, Jules, was in a devastating motorcycle accident that left him with lifelong physical disabilities and traumatic brain injury. Lori’s life became centered on caregiving for her two brothers; a foreshadowing of the path that was ahead.

Already living a less than conventional schedule, when she graduated high school in 1968, it was decided by their mothers that it would be good for both Cannon and her cousin Hollis if Lori accompanied her cousin on a European tour with her college choir. After touring nine countries, Lori returned to Chicago with the Democratic Convention in full swing. Feeling compelled to be where the action was, she grabbed her father’s 16 mm Bolex camera and went down to Michigan Avenue. It was her first experience with activism, pepper spray, paddy wagons and being jailed alongside prostitutes.

Inspired by her father’s work in animation, Cannon signed up for filmmaking classes at Columbia College. She made her first documentary, “You Haven’t Seen the USA Until You Have Seen Chicago”, to support tourism. It was based on the popular jingle by Dick Marx, who was the head copywriter at Leo Burnett and a friend of her father.

During this time Lori was also introduced to her great love of blues music by way of her cousins, Leonard and Phil Chess, founders of Chess Records. Leonard’s son, Marshall, served as executive manager for the Rolling Stones, ran their record label and toured with them. So it wasn’t unusual for Cannon to spend time with the band at the studio when they were in town. This ignited her enduring passion for blues music where she was a fixture in Chicago’s legendary southside blues clubs. She developed life-long friendships with musicians like Koko Taylor and Lonnie Brooks and their families.

She landed her first job as a kindergarten teacher and moved on to pre-school. Though she found working with the kids to be rewarding, she felt adrift. She decided to visit her father Lee on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona where he now resided. As past-President of the 4th Marine Division DC1 in WWII, he chose to honor the Navajo Code Talkers – alongside whom he had served – when he was selected to host the division’s annual dinner. From that point on, he devoted his life to the Navajo and Native American rights. Lori returned to Chicago and took a job as a dispatcher for Winkle Transportation. The dispatcher job lasted one day. On her second day she took a convoy of kids from Northwestern on fieldtrips, next became the regular driver for tuba practice; and then became the go-to for all the Arie Crown Theater touring companies. She quickly became known as the “Driver to the Stars.” It was during this time that Lori was first introduced to Chicago’s gay community. School routes during the day afforded flexible time between 9a-2p; something that she didn’t know then would be invaluable in her life’s work.

Cannon stepped up in Chicago when AIDS descended on us in the mid-80s and she never left

Cannon, the company actors, friends all started hearing the stories of illness, the coughing, the spots, the swift death. She went to meetings medical professionals hosted in their homes. She became one of the earliest volunteers for Chicago House, the first local agency to provide housing for people with AIDS.

In 1987 Cannon attended the National March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights, where she also first encountered the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. It was the beginning of a 40-year friendship with NAMES Project founder Cleve Jones. She helped launch the Chicago chapter and brought the quilt to Chicago three times from 1988-1994.

The 1988 Navy Pier quilt display was also the catalyst for the beginning of Open Hand Chicago, a meals-on-wheels program for people with AIDS/HIV modeled after San Francisco’s Project Open Hand. As a founding board member and her bus driver expertise was instrumental in developing the routes that covered home deliveries throughout the entire city. She ensured there was never a waiting list, no one ever went without. The downtime on her school routes afforded her time for caregiving.

As AIDS raged on, so did the fight. Cannon became the wing person for her best friend and comrade in arms, political cartoonist/activist Danny Sotomayor who was the co-founder and most-public face of ACT UP Chicago (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) whose demands for better care and treatment were unwavering and relentless. During this time Lori developed relationships with those she referred to as “movers and shakers” who could donate, instigate, and make things happen. Deep friendships with playwright Scott McPherson – also Danny’s partner; classical music critic for WMFT Andrew Patner; and her beloved Jon-Henri Damski, the queer writer and thinker for whom she created an annual award to commemorate his memory.

After the advent of Protease Inhibitor “drug cocktails” in 1995, AIDS sufferers started to live longer. The need for home delivered meals to the dying shifted to groceries for the living. Lori led the charge and the “Groceryland” pantry network was born to provide clients the opportunity to choose their own groceries to prepare food at home. Groceryland was more than a pantry, it was a community hub where people in need knew they could find support that extended beyond the shopping carts. When Heartland Alliance, the parent company imploded, Groceryland survived because of Cannon.

Cannon’s legacy is one of radical care and relentless action

Lori was also a volunteer with AIDS Legal Counsel of Chicago, STOP AIDS Chicago, Howard Brown Health, AIDS Walk Chicago, and the AIDS care unit at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. In recognition of her decades of advocacy, she was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1994 as a “Friend of the Community.” In 2010 she also cofounded the Chicago-based Legacy Project, which honors LGBTQ+ contributions to world history and culture.

Cannon inspired direct action. The stories from everyone imaginable, of doing things they had never considered before just because she asked – are legend. And no one could ask like Lori Cannon .- Her astounding memory was laser-focused; she knew the story of every single client and volunteer throughout her 40-year-tenure without ever writing anything down.

Cannon believed it was the job of the healthy to care for the sick. And she thought about the intangible – clothes, bedding that needed washing; dogs that needed walking; what the sound and sight of a human presence meant. Specialty items, treats were collected and dispensed. Regular drives for costly household goods and toiletries not covered by EBT were distributed. She reached out to hair stylists, secured and distributed numerous comps to theater productions and concerts. She was a hand up before that expression existed.

Lori Cannon was your friend, your family, your advocate, your fighter, your defender. Her wrath was not to be risked, but mostly, she inspired people to go big, time and time again. She was the Cannonball; the Totie Fields of relentless schtick; and Chicago’s undeniable AIDS Angel of Compassion and Giving – a beacon of red, from the hair done weekly without fail by her beloved Leon at Brady C’est Bon Salon, to the talon nails, the outrageous costume jewelry, the meticulously applied make-up, and the omnipresent flip flops. The perfume, the accessories. The meals at Calo and The Bagel; the confections at Taste of Heaven. Annual birthday parties for senior volunteer Harry and his team of devoted advocates; the countless celebrations she organized in everyone’s honor for every occasion and milestone.

“Lori taught me that activism isn’t just what you do, it’s who you are when no one’s watching. She didn’t wait for permission to fight for justice, she made space, fed people, and told the truth, even when it hurt. Her life was a radical act of compassion and courage.” Modesto Tico Valle, former CEO at Center On Halsted.

In lieu of flowers and cash donations, please consider making donations to Groceryland: 5543 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640 (773) 871-7610 Include that your contribution is in honor of Lori Cannon. · Aldi Gift Cards · Canned and Dry Goods (volume of the same item is a big help) · Toilet Paper, Toiletries (soap/body wash, shampoo, lotion, tampax, shaving)

Turn grief into fuel, Lori wants us to keep up the fight: · Volunteer at your local pantry · Organize a drive for toilet paper and toiletries · Demand dignity and healthcare for all · Speak up when it’s uncomfortable · Love louder

A private burial and service will be held on August 20, 2025; 1 PM at Shalom Memorial Park. For a link to view the service, shiva information and to leave condolences: www.shalommemorial.org or (847) 255-3520. A community celebration of life will be held on Sunday, November 2, 2025 1 PM – 4 PM at Sidetrack, 3349. N. Halsted Street, Chicago, IL 60613. There are further plans for commemoration, a retrospective and Lori’s personal archives.