Dr. Gene Cantwell was a resident of Clermont and a member of the First United Methodist Church for over 80 years and a member of Kiwanis for 70 years.
Dr. Cantwell opened his optometric practice in 1950 and, for many years, was Clermont’s only eye doctor. His first office was upstairs on the south side of Montrose between 7th and 8th streets. After two years, he built an office on the north side of the road, and then in 1987 built his final office building at 609 W. Montrose. When Dr. Cantwell retired in 1993, Dr. Jim Davis took over his practice.
He had described Montrose as the only commercial area in Clermont back in the 1950-60s. Publix was on the southeast corner of Montrose and 7th and when Publix built a store and moved outside of the downtown area, that was the beginning of the demise of the town center.
Dr. Cantwell was an amazing athlete for most of his life despite having polio as a child and being a 20-year breast cancer survivor. When knee problems made running and playing tennis very painful, he switched to bicycling for cardiovascular exercise and began to play senior softball and basketball. He continued to play both until he hit 80 and had to have both knees replaced. His basketball team won their third national championship in his final year of playing, so he would say, “I retired with a bang”.
Besides sports, he enjoyed the challenge of backpacking. Dr. Cantwell met his wife Mary Ann while backpacking on the Appalachian Trail. The summer before they married, he went to Africa and climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. After they were married, they trekked for a month in the Himalayas, in a remote region of northern India, and the following year trekked the Peruvian Andes.
Dr. Cantwell joined Kiwanis in 1950 and had 65 years of perfect attendance until illness made it impossible to get to meetings regularly. As a young businessman, he was a member of the JCs (Junior Chamber of Commerce), served on the board of Cooper Memorial Library, and the hospital board.
“I once told Mary Ann when she complained about a vehicle making a turn without using the turn signal – You need to understand that Clermont used to be a small town. When you saw a car, you not only knew who it belonged to but where they were going. So, turn signals weren’t necessary. The rapid growth in recent years has given me cause for concern and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t complain about the traffic situation. Clermont has changed tremendously from when I was a kid, but it is still a wonderful place to live”.
Dr. Gene Cantwell
The family suggests in lieu of flowers, memorials in Dr. Eugene Cantwell’s name be made to the First United Methodist Church, Endowment Fund, 950 7th Street, Clermont.
Further details will be furnished as they become available.
