Paul Margrave Canzoneri of Birmingham, Alabama, died peacefully in his sleep on January 3, 2017, after celebrating his 65th birthday.
Paul was born on January 3, 1952, in Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Joe G. and Jeanette Canzoneri. His father, a Southern Baptist minister, was called to pastor several small churches in Kentucky shortly after Paul’s birth. In 1957, the family – which by then included older brother Joe B. and younger brother David – moved to Waco, Texas. In 1962, they returned to Mississippi, residing in Jackson.
Paul graduated from Wingfield High School in Jackson and was awarded a full scholarship to Ringling School of Art. Instead, at his father’s behest, he attended Mississippi College and the University of Southern Mississippi. At the age of 22, he founded a design studio and screen printing plant in Jackson called Good Earth Graphics, which he built into a national supplier for imprinted sportswear, his work won four ADDY Awards.
In 1974, he married Ann Lampe; they later divorced. In 1979, he married Beth Riley, to whom he was married for 30 years. They had two children: Will, in 1980, and Clare, in 1984.
In 1982, Paul co-founded Diddy Wah Diddy, an alternative humor and pop culture magazine with thousands of subscribers, which featured humor columns, music reviews, interviews, fiction, and random commentary under his pseudonym, R. Huitt. Paul (aka “Professor Paul”) also hosted a weekly Diddy Wah Diddy blues radio show on Z106 in Jackson, drawing on his legendary collection of vinyl and encyclopedic knowledge of music.
After discovering the potential of the Macintosh computer, he left the graphic arts and opened Mississippi’s first independent Apple reseller in 1989, and was later hired by Apple in 1997 to work with educational institutions.
Paul was an active member of Red Mountain Church (Birmingham) and former equally-active member of Wells United Methodist Church (Jackson), Trinity Presbyterian Church (Jackson), and Faith Presbyterian Church (Birmingham). He channeled his creative energy into leadership roles at these churches, serving as an Elder and Sunday School teacher at both Trinity and Faith, and helping launch Jackson’s first and longest-running festival, Wells Fest.
Paul inspired creativity and imagination in his friends and family, encouraging both of his children to pursue artistic endeavors – his son becoming a professional composer and musician, and his daughter an arts administrator. Once Will could walk, they made an annual pilgrimage to the Jazz Fest in New Orleans, and he always went to great lengths to immerse his children in the music he loved. He played a mean blues harp (a.k.a. harmonica) with modest renown, and enthusiastically dabbled on any other instrument he could find. He painted and drew, and in his later years, poured himself into writing a book about life in Jackson in the late ’60s.
He spoke his own language – literally and figuratively – and prided himself as a free thinker, relentlessly encouraging others to also “think different.” He was always drawn to the misfits and the freaks, the crazy ones, the round pegs in the square holes. He looked for the hidden value in everyone and everything, be it a person or a cast-off item in a thrift store.
Paul inspired those in his circles to trust in God’s plan and His Goodness. He will be remembered for his creative intellect, offbeat sense of humor, gentle spirit, and unwavering spirituality.
Paul is survived by his children, Will Canzoneri of Los Angeles, CA, and Clare Canzoneri of Seattle, WA, and their mother, former wife Beth Riley Hendrix of Moscow, ID; brothers Joe B. Canzoneri of Decatur, GA, and David (Carrie) Canzoneri of Commerce, TX; and fiancée Leslie Mayo of Birmingham, AL. He is preceded in death by his parents Joe G. Canzoneri and Jeanette Bullard Canzoneri.
A public memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. at Red Mountain Church in Birmingham, AL, on Saturday, January 28.
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