Betty Davis Cannady, a 50-year resident of Rustic Canyon, passed away January 30 at the age of 84. Betty was born December 17, 1926, in West Virginia. After World War II, she met her future husband, Samuel Jackson ‘Jack’ Cannady, at a drugstore in Richlands, Virginia, where she had moved. Shortly afterwards, Jack moved to California to work as a design engineer for missile hardware at Douglas Aircraft. The couple carried on a long-distance romance via letter and telephone, and eventually married in Las Vegas in 1952. They settled in Rustic Canyon in 1961. A homemaker for the majority of her married life, Betty also occasionally worked as a secretary for the UCLA Neuropsychiatry Department on the Westwood campus. Betty and Jack (a jazz lover who had an extensive collection of rare recordings that he converted into tapes for gifts for friends) shared a love of music and the marvels of nature. Jack, who died in 1998, was the unofficial photographer of upper Rustic Canyon, always showing up at parties with a Nikon around his neck and wearing a photographer’s vest. Betty with her endless supply of critter food and Jack with his ever-ready camera were a special couple to their neighbors, friends and family. In addition to her husband, Betty was preceded in death by her sister, Mary Cruise. She is survived by her nephew, Gary Cruise of Frazier Park, and her niece, Susan Clement of Stockton. Private services were held February 15.
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