Obituary of John B. Cantrell

Indian Harbour Beach John B. Cantrell, 88, retired Lt. Colonel, USAF, died on March 4, 2012. Born in Spokane, WA and raised in Cambridge, MA in a family of six. He was the son of Mary A. (Carney) and Cecil W. Cantrell, both deceased. He was a member of the Musicians Union #102, Boston, MA. Enlisted in the U.S. Army and served with the 5th Armored Div., landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, 5 major battles, received 2 Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. After the Army, he entered Harvard College and transferred to New England Conservatory of Music to complete with a BA and MA in Education. Reactivated to U.S. Air Force, 2nd Lt. and retired as Lt. Colonel. Selected to serve as Administrative Assistant to Congressman W. Dickinson and aide to President Nixon, Admission Officer, U.S. Computer Learning School, Special Systems Analyst at U.S. Air Force Systems Command. Retired in 1985 to "cruise the world over" with his wife Barbara. Daughters Claudia and Leslie started married life and John decided to move to Florida to play more golf and enjoy more big-band cruises. As a professional musician, John played piano, clarinet, oboe, flute, and alto and tenor sax with local and national dance bands, marching bands and symphony orchestras. John was predeceased by his first wife Dorothy E. Kearney in 1994, and his daughter, Claudia C. Fanning in 2010. Also predeceased are his siblings, Helen, Marlboro, MA.; Virginia, Aiken, SC.; Cecil W. Jr., (Sonny), Kissimmee, Fl.; and Paul, Nashua, NH. He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Barbara H. (Judge) Cantrell of Indian Harbour Beach, daughter Leslie C. Schoeffel (Clay), grandchildren, Clay Jr., Benjamin and Paige and his only surviving sibling, Tom Cantrell of Anaheim, California. A memorial gathering will be held on Friday, March 9 from 10:00 - 11:00 am with a service to begin at 11:00 a.m., at Beach Funeral Home, Indian Harbour Beach. He will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA at a later date.