Dec. 5, 1946 – Feb. 13, 2026
St. Helena Island
Lieutenant General (Retired) Michael A. Canavan, U.S. Army, passed away at home on Feb. 13, 2026, after a long illness. Gen. Canaven was born on Dec. 5, 1946, in Quincy, Mass. His father was in the Air Force and growing up he lived in five states and on two islands (Guam and the Azores). He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1966 and served as a Combat Engineer and later commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry upon graduation from the Infantry Officer Candidate School, Fort Benning, Ga. Gen. Canavan retired from active duty in January 2001.
Gen. Canavan held a variety of Command and Staff positions in Vietnam (two tours), Thailand, Germany (three tours), the Republic of Korea and the United States. He taught Army ROTC at Georgia Tech and Morehouse College.
His General Officer assignments included Commanding General, TRADOC Analysis Command, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; Assistant Division Commander for Operations, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; Commanding General, Special Operations Command, Europe, Stuttgart, Germany; Commanding General, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.; and Chief of Staff, European Command, Stuttgart, Germany.
His combat operations included service in the Republic of Vietnam as Commander, 1st Battalion (A-401), IV Corps Mobile Strike Force, 5th Special Forces Group and a later tour in Thailand/Vietnam as a Search Team Leader, Joint Casualty Resolution Center, and service as a Battalion Executive Officer, 821 Airborne Division in Operation Urgent Fury (Grenada). Some of his many contingency operations include Provide Comfort (Northern Iraq), Joint Endeavor (Bosnia), Assured Response (Evacuation of Liberia) and Kosovo.
Gen. Canavan was a graduate of St. Martin’s College, Infantry Officer Candidate School, Infantry Officer Advanced Course, U.S. Army Command and Staff College, and the Army War College. Among his many military medals, awards and decorations are the Defense Distinguished Service Medal; the Defense Superior Service Medal; the Legion of Merit; the Bronze Star; the Purple Heart; the Defense Meritorious Service Medal; the Combat Infantryman’s Badge; Master Parachutist Badge; Military Freefall Badge; Ranger Tab; Special Forces Tab; Pathfinder Badge and Scuba Diver Badge.
Following retirement from active duty, Gen. Canavan ran a first responder training center for Bechtel Corporation, and in 2003, he joined Anteon Corporation, Information Systems Group (ISG), (now General Dynamics Corporation).
In 2006, Gen. Canavan accompanied his wife Katherine Canavan to Botswana, where she was serving as the United States Ambassador. In 2008, they transferred to Stuttgart, Germany, where she was assigned as the Foreign Policy Advisor and Civilian Deputy to the Commander, United States European Command. During that period, Gen. Canavan served as a consultant to Joint Forces Command as a Senior Mentor for their Joint Exercise Program. He also served on the Board of USFalcon. The Canavans moved to St. Helena Island, S.C., in 2011, where they enjoyed going to the gym, golfing, boating, fishing, travel and spending time with family and friends.
Gen. Canavan is survived by his wife of 20 years, Katherine; son Michael Canavan (Rachael); daughter Jamie Lanier (Patrick); daughter Michele Myers (Eric); granddaughters Daisy and Lily Lanier; grandson Owen Ryen; and grandson Flynn Canavan.
Private services will be scheduled for a date in the future. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Friends of Caroline Hospice or the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.