John Allan Cantor, of Los Angeles, California, passed away at his home in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, on February 11, 2011. Surrounded by his family and loved ones, John succumbed to cancer after bravely battling the disease for almost three years. Born into the Jewish faith on July 13, 1951, John also practiced Buddhist mediation. While John loved and respected his Jewish background, he took a great deal of joy from the study of Tibetan Buddhism, and that practice helped him through a difficult passing.

John had a long, successful career in healthcare and hospital administration, contributing to the development of many programs and projects that benefitted physicians and patients. His career of almost 30 years took place in New York City, as well as Worcester.

John was a lover of all forms of outdoor adventure. He surfed on both coasts, as well as in Costa Rica. John also had the opportunity to run the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon on two occasions. He was a passionate lover of jazz and popular music, especially the forms of jazz played in the 1920s and 1930s. This love of the music led to a weekly radio program, “Jazz Standard Time”, that John hosted on Saturday mornings for radio station WCUW in Worcester.

Ironically, at the very time of John’s passing, his daughter qualified for participation in a national speech competition. John’s love of his daughter, his strength of character, and his pride in her wonderful accomplishment, helped him remain present and clear during his final days.

Barbara Cantor, John’s sister-in-law, noted, “Here’s another of John’s trademarks: He was one of the most “even keel” people I ever met. In 31 years I NEVER heard John raise his voice, go off on anyone or lose his cool. He was soft spoken in a very gentle way, but his words were powerful.”

John leaves his beloved wife, Greta, daughter, Alexis, his brother, Mark, and a large number of relatives and close friends who will miss his wisdom, presence, compassion and wonderful sense of humor. Special mention should be made of his sense of humor, which seemed to come out of nowhere, funny and occasionally profound at the same time, and with him until the very end.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 P.M. on Sunday, February 19, in Temple Sinai at 661 Salisbury St., Worcester, under the direction of Richard Perlman, Funeral Director of Brezniak Rodman Funeral Home of Newton.

At John’s request, in lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Sakya Center, P.O. Box 391042, Cambridge, MA 02140, or Chokhor Gepel Ling/Tsawa Monks, 3536 McLaughlin Avenue, Los Angeles, California.