Mr. Edward Kaneb

Our Father, Edward Kaneb would be surprised with this obit. Always larger than life, who’d have ever thought that death would ever want to tangle with him. He had a roar that softened with age, but occasionally surfaced to remind his family and others that he was always a force to be reckoned with, even at 94.

The strength of the force with which he lived was equaled only by his love for his wife Kaye and his four children: Leslie, Gretchen, Elizabeth and Edward Jr. He loved us beyond belief and we carried our love for him anywhere and everywhere we went, near or far. We always called and checked in. Dad was witty, sarcastic, charming, and difficult wrapped up as a human being who had struggled and worked all his life. He lived by the motto “Don’t Quit.” He was an authority on the stock market, politics, construction, apple propagation, and life in general. Dad was proud of his family, his orchard and all that he worked at. He was chairman of Massena Electric for twenty years. He slowed down after his wife’s death, but still remained interested and involved in the community. He drove his big white car until the end. Dad was born October 14, 1922 in Worcester, Massachusetts. His family moved to Cornwall, Ontario where he would grow up. He attended school at CCVS and later proudly attended McGill University. He was an avid athlete and loved basketball, tennis and hockey. He loved to fish and taught us all how to hook a line. After graduation, he joined the Canadian Navy serving in WWII. He and Kaye would move to Massena in 1956 to construct and operate the Highland Hotel which would subsequently become the Highland Nursing Home. He opened and operated food concession stands at Eisenhower Locks and Barnhart Beach. He was a restauranteur long before it was cool to be in the food business and he foresaw the need to care for the aged long before nursing homes were part of the landscape. Dad was part of a large Lebanese family in Cornwall and his brothers Nick (late), George (late), Wilfred (late) and Victor along with his sisters Marilyn and Lorraine (late) were always part of his and our boisterous lives. He leaves behind a multitude of cousins, nieces and nephews. Last but not least he leaves behind his most loved grandchildren: Lindsay, Meryl, Hillary, Roger, Michael and great-grands: Charlotte, Avery, Chloe and Oliver. A Celebration of Ed’s Life for family and friends will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2016 from 3-7 at the Highland Nursing Home, 182 Highland Road, Massena, NY.