Donald Cannata, longtime minister of education, died Jan. 31. He was 86. He was born Aug. 20, 1933, in Houston to Samuel R.J. and Mattie Lee Ellison Cannata, and he was educated in Houston public schools. He earned degrees from Baylor University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Cannata served as minister of education and administration in churches in Texas and Alabama for four decades. He moved with his family to Waco in 1972 to serve First Baptist Church and later Western Heights Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by brothers Harold Lee and Sam Jr. He is survived by his wife, Norma Palmer Cannata; daughter, Leigh Ann Marshall, and husband, Tracy; son Mark, and wife, Edna; daughter Susan Moody; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
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