Article reprinted from Austin American Statesman

July 18, 2007 Edition

Katherine Berkley Cannon, whose childhood love of a landmark home in Dripping Springs led her to launch a foundation to save it, died July 15, 2007 in her home of complications from lung cancer, said her husband of 50 years, Dennis Cannon. She was 75. Born in Henly, the retired teacher and basketball, tennis and track coach started the Friends of the Pound House Foundation in 1990 to restore Joseph Pound's home and turn it into a museum. Pound, a physician in Dripping Springs during the mid-1850's, and one of the town's founders, died in 1914. Charlie Haydon, a former foundation board member, said Cannon wanted to preserve what was left of the town's history for future generations. "She knew that preserving our history was important," Haydon said. "We were once a rural community, now we've turned into a bedroom community with potential for more growth." As a child, Cannon would play and ride horses with Pound's descendants on the restored property. Haydon said Cannon felt passionate about the property's future once it fell into disrepair. With donations from its annual Fall Fest - which demonstrated early crafts and skills - the foundation was able to raise enough money to replace broken windows, leaning walls, sagging floors and termite damage. The house was opened to visitors by May 2003. Former board President Claireen Fellers said Cannon and her husband could often be seen working on the property. "She did everything from mowing the grass to cleaning out flower beds, doing whatever needed to be done, Fellers said. "She and her husband saved the Pound House." Dennis Cannon said projects started by his wife at the Pound House, including a new visitor's center and construction of an iron gate around the property, will continue. "We're trying to deal with it the best way we can," he said. "She was an excellent wife and a good mother, I'm so happy she was involved with this effort." Cannon is survived by her husband and two daughters, Susan Houston and Kay Cannon.