Robert Dale Cann passed away peacefully at his home on August 31, 2024 in the company of family. Bob was born January 22, 1944. His soldier father came home from World War ll to meet him when he was 2.
Bob grew up in Southern California during the golden age of movie studios, orange groves, drive-in theaters, backyard pool adventures, and outings with the family. He met Walt Disney at Disneyland on opening day in 1955. Disneyland held his fascination throughout his life. He enjoyed his honeymoon there and had many return visits with siblings, friends, children, and grandchildren to the “happiest place on earth”, including a final trip there just 3 months ago.
Bob attended Fair Avenue School in North Hollywood and Andres Duarte Junior high in Duarte. He graduated in the class of 1962 from Covina High School where art was his favorite class. He started drawing comic books in Junior High School.
Bob felt his testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints grow as an early morning seminary student while at Covina High School. He attended two years of college at Brigham Young University, then served a mission to the British Southwest mission from 1964 to 1966, and returned to BYU, where he graduated in 1969.
While still lingering at BYU, Bob fell for Peggy Brimhall, who he married in the Salt Lake City temple in 1971. He began providing for his family with several advertising and media jobs. At the invitation of a college friend, he applied as advertising director for the new University Mall in Orem. He used his artistic talents for print ads, television and radio spots, and community activities like Safety City, Santa’s Arrival (with live reindeer), Mall Walk sales, car shows, and more. He later accepted a position with KSL as Director of Retail Development, arranging ads for TV and radio for a broad spectrum of clients. If you watched KSL in the 1980s or 1990s, you saw ads he created.
Bob accepted a variety of callings to serve at church, including bishoprics, high priests quorums, and as a senior service mission with Peggy in the LDS Employment Center in Provo. But perhaps his favorite calling was as a parent and grandparent, and he loved traveling to visit his children and grandchildren and looking for adventure with them.
Bob is survived by his wife, Peggy Cann, children Weston, Dallas (Amy), Damon (Clair), and Danae (Jerry Fails), his siblings, Don (Cathy) Cann and Lois Cann, and a host of grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dale and Beth Cann.
Memorial services will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Orem North Stake Center, 1000 N. Main Street, on Saturday September 14 at 11:00am. There will be a visitation at 10:15 am before the services as well as at the Cann home on Friday, Sept. 13 from 6-8pm. He will be interred at Timpanogos Memorial Gardens in Orem, Utah. In lieu of flowers, we invite friends and family to honor Bob by taking a drive up the canyon, petting a kitty, taking a friend to lunch, or sharing a chocolate chip cookie with a friend.