South Carolina man turns 100; family honors his legacy

Cannon was born in 1923 and was one of nine brothers. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Columbia before moving to New York for many years.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Columbia native Clem Cannon celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday with a special party surrounded by family and friends. 

Cannon was born in 1923 and was one of nine brothers. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Columbia before moving to New York, where he spent many years working in the photography industry.

After returning to Columbia, Cannon was a South Carolina State Museum greeter and helped at the Harvest Hope Food Bank. Those who know him best described Cannon as a self-reliant person who loves music and enjoys discussing current events in sports with family and friends. 

“This is the first centenarian that we’ve had in our family,” Clem’s nephew Steven Cannon said. “We felt that it was important to commemorate this occasion by celebrating his 100th birthday. So we came together as a family and decided that we were going to do this, and here we are.”

Steven said his “Uncle Clem” has also passed along his interests to other generations of the family.

“Uncle Clem … meant a lot to us because he was an avid photographer, and so, therefore, he transferred his love of photography to several of his nieces and nephews,” he said. “And we have tried to carry on that tradition because we know that capturing memories with pictures or videos it’s very important for looking back towards the past.” 

Saturday’s celebration was held at the Inspire Sandhill Senior Living Center.