2018 Second Extraordinary Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 15
BY SENATORS ALARIO, ALLAIN, APPEL, BARROW, BISHOP, BOUDREAUX,
CARTER, CHABERT, CLAITOR, COLOMB, CORTEZ, DONAHUE,
ERDEY, FANNIN, GATTI, HEWITT, JOHNS, LAFLEUR, LAMBERT,
LONG, LUNEAU, MARTINY, MILKOVICH, MILLS, MIZELL,
MORRELL, MORRISH, PEACOCK, PERRY, PETERSON, PRICE,
RISER, GARY SMITH, JOHN SMITH, TARVER, THOMPSON,
WALSWORTH, WARD AND WHITE AND REPRESENTATIVES
ABRAHAM, ABRAMSON, AMEDEE, ANDERS, ARMES, BACALA,
BAGLEY, BAGNERIS, BARRAS, BERTHELOT, BILLIOT, BISHOP,
BOUIE, BRASS, CHAD BROWN, TERRY BROWN, CARMODY,
CARPENTER, GARY CARTER, ROBBY CARTER, STEVE CARTER,
CHANEY, CONNICK, COUSSAN, COX, CREWS, CROMER, DAVIS,
DEVILLIER, DUPLESSIS, DWIGHT, EDMONDS, EMERSON,
FALCONER, FOIL, FRANKLIN, GAINES, GAROFALO, GISCLAIR,
GLOVER, GUINN, HALL, JIMMY HARRIS, LANCE HARRIS,
HAVARD, HAZEL, HENRY, HENSGENS, HILFERTY, HILL,
HODGES, HOFFMANN, HOLLIS, HORTON, HOWARD, HUNTER,
HUVAL, IVEY, JACKSON, JAMES, JEFFERSON, JENKINS,
JOHNSON, JONES, JORDAN, NANCY LANDRY, TERRY LANDRY,
LEBAS, LEGER, LEOPOLD, LYONS, MACK, MAGEE, MARCELLE,
MARINO, MCFARLAND, MIGUEZ, DUSTIN MILLER, GREGORY
MILLER, JAY MORRIS, JIM MORRIS, MUSCARELLO, NORTON,
PEARSON, PIERRE, POPE, PUGH, PYLANT, REYNOLDS,
RICHARD, SCHEXNAYDER, SEABAUGH, SHADOIN, SIMON,
SMITH, STAGNI, STEFANSKI, STOKES, TALBOT, THIBAUT,
THOMAS, WHITE, WRIGHT AND ZERINGUE
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To express the sincere condolences of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the death of
Dr. Billy A. Cannon Sr.
WHEREAS, it is with deep regret and profound sorrow that the citizens learned of
the death of Dr. Billy A. Cannon Sr. on May 20, 2018, at the age of eighty; and
WHEREAS, William "Billy" Abb Cannon Sr. was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi,
on August 2, 1937; and
WHEREAS, his family moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the 1940s, where he
attended Istrouma High School, excelled in sports, and met his high school sweetheart
Dorothy "Dot" Dupuy Cannon; and
WHEREAS, he enrolled at Louisiana State University (LSU) in the fall of 1956 and
married the love of his life, Dot, on November 23rd that same year; and
WHEREAS, Billy Cannon was an athletic phenom at the time, standing six feet one
inch and weighing nearly two hundred pounds; and
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WHEREAS, what set him apart was not only his size, but his speed and agility, and
he and his teammates were some of the first to begin weight training which added to his
strength and made him an unstoppable force on the field; and
WHEREAS, he ran track and played football at LSU and was an outstanding student
maintaining a B+ average; and
WHEREAS, Billy Cannon is known for wearing Number 20 and for the "Halloween
Run", an eighty-nine yard punt return against the Ole Miss Rebels in Tiger Stadium
in 1958; and
WHEREAS, that year, he and his teammates, whom he adored, went undefeated and
won LSU's first national championship; and
WHEREAS, in 1959, Billy Cannon won the Heisman Trophy and is the only player
in the history of LSU to have achieved that distinction; and
WHEREAS, he went on to play professional football for eleven years for the
Houston Oilers, Oakland Raiders, and Kansas City Chiefs, and was the first player to garner
all-pro honors in two different positions; and
WHEREAS, during the off seasons, he attended the Dental School at Loyola of
Chicago and the University of Tennessee, earning both a Doctor of Dental Surgery and
Master of Science; and
WHEREAS, in addition to being an outstanding athlete, Billy Cannon was a
wonderful father; and
WHEREAS, he and Dot had five children and to his family, he was simply "Daddy";
and
WHEREAS, Billy Cannon was a brilliant historian, had a mind like a steel trap, and
a wicked sense of humor; and
WHEREAS, he knew how to have a good time and could be a rascal at times, but
more importantly, he had many friends and was extremely loyal to them; and
WHEREAS, Billy Cannon also worked at the Louisiana State Penitentiary as a
dentist for twenty-two years, retiring in January 2018; and
WHEREAS, he helped reform a failing medical and dental program at the prison,
and, although he was not blind to inmates' crimes, he believed every inmate had worth and
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deserved kindness; and
WHEREAS, Billy Cannon believed in humanity and lobbied to get the pharmacy
back to the prison when it was decentralized and took weeks to get the medications the
inmates needed; and
WHEREAS, he also had a love of thoroughbred horses and purchased his first one
in California in the early 1960s; and
WHEREAS, having purchased many over the years, he enjoyed raising them at his
farm in St. Francisville, Louisiana, and would often sit in a lounge chair outside of the stall
and help the mares deliver their foals; and
WHEREAS, Billy A Cannon Sr. is survived by his loving wife, Dorothy "Dot"
Cannon; children, Terri Cannon Byrd, Gina Cannon McWilliams, Dara Cannon Kelsoe,
Billy Cannon Jr., and Bunnie Cannon; eight grandchildren, Kimberly Kelsoe Becker,
Cannon McWilliams, Laci McWilliams Gentry, Cassie Cannon Graham, Jessie Cannon
Black, Abbie Cannon, Mandie Cannon, and Billie Cannon; and eight great-grandchildren;
and
WHEREAS, he was preceded in death by his parents, Harvey W. Cannon Sr. and
Virgie Savell Cannon; and his older brother, Harvey W. Cannon Jr.; and
WHEREAS, LSU meant more to Billy Cannon than anyone could ever know; it was
not the awards or the acknowledgments on the football field, it was that his life was
intertwined with the purple and gold; and
WHEREAS, with the death of Dr. Billy A. Cannon Sr., Louisiana has lost one of its
finest sons, a quintessential southern gentleman who loved the Louisiana State University
fans and family, and whose accomplishments have left an indelible mark upon the Baton
Rouge community, the state of Louisiana, and the United States of America; and
WHEREAS, his death has left a substantial void in the Baton Rouge community and
a sense of loss in the citizens whose lives he touched, and his memory shall live forever in
the minds and hearts of all those who knew and loved this remarkable gentleman.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
express sincere and heartfelt condolences upon the death of Dr. Billy A. Cannon Sr., record
for posterity his outstanding achievements, and extend enduring appreciation for the
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tremendous pride and honor that he will forever bring to the Baton Rouge and LSU
communities, the state of Louisiana, and the United States of America.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
family of Dr. Billy A. Cannon Sr.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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