Mamie Ruth Canton, 84, of Boston, MA, was welcomed into the arms of her Lord and Savior on Sunday, October 11, 2026. Mamie was born on February 9, 1942 in San Augustine, Texas to Otto “Fox” Canton and Mary Jenkins Canton.

Mamie's life centered around her love for the Lord and her steadfast determination to live a life worthy of her Lord’s sacrifice. She read her Bible daily and knew the Old Testament especially well. You could often hear her singing the old hymns of Zion and she had a beautiful voice. She ensured that her daughter and granddaughter knew and loved the Lord as much as she did.

Mamie’s professional passion was English. She highly valued education and excelled in all of her studies, graduating valedictorian of her high school class. In 1969 she received her B.A. in English, with a Minor in Drama, and in 1972 her M.A. in General Studies in Literature, both degrees from San Francisco State University. From 1984-1986 she was a Visiting Scholar in the Department of English and American Literature and Language at Harvard University.

Mamie used the degrees she earned by teaching at numerous colleges and universities in California and Massachusetts, such as Stanford, University of California, Berkeley, Menlo College, Leslie University, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, Pine Manor College, and Northern Essex Community College…just to name a few. She taught numerous courses including Composition, Creative Writing, Literature, Afro-American Studies and Old English…again, just to name a few. Mamie loved children and also privately tutored youth K-12 in English and Math. Mamie was a member of the Modern Language Association, National

Council of Teachers of English and the American Association of University Women.

Mamie was a voracious reader of books, magazines and newspapers, especially the San Augustine Tribune. She had hundreds of books and read them all.

Mamie’s heart was the size of the state she was born in. There was nothing she would withhold to someone in need, often at great personal sacrifice to herself. Her memory will live on in the multitude of people whose lives she touched with her gentle and giving spirit in her over eight decades of life. While Mamie had a gentle and soft demeanor, her inner fortitude was strong and unwavering. That Mamie will be missed couldn’t be more of an understatement.

Mamie’s legacy will be carried on by her daughter, Sheila Ann Brooks Caviel Hubbard of Boston, MA; granddaughter, Jillian Mary Hubbard (Christopher Enos); great-granddaughters Avery Valencia Enos and Jaime Ashlynn Enos, all of Silver Spring, MD; and sister Margie Canton. She also leaves a host of nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews, and cousins.

Mamie joins her heavenly family parents Otto “Fox” Canton and Mary Jenkins Canton; brothers Billie, John, Marvin Dean (“MD), Thurman and Cleophis (“Cleo”); and sisters Annie Louise Canton Green, Murl Canton Whiteside, and Shirley Canton Green.

This obituary could never come close to describing all of who Mamie Canton was, but the hope is you will have learned something you did not know about her.

A Funeral Home Service will be held at Dolan Funeral Home, 1140 Washington Street, DORCHESTER LOWER MILLS, Monday October 19 at 11:00 AM. Family and friends invited. A Visitation will be held prior to the service from 10-11 AM. Interment Saint Michael’s Cemetery, Roslindale.