A registered nurse who also worked eight years at Florida Medical Center, Mr. Canute joined the Lauderdale Lakes Fire Department in 1980 determined to make a difference and sometimes risking his own safety, co-workers said.
Mr. Canute received the city's medal of honor in 1985 for helping save the life of a man who had been shot twice by his wife during a domestic dispute. Mr. Canute and another paramedic disarmed the woman and then treated the injured man.
"This guy would have given the shirt off his back to anyone, even if he didn't know them," said Lauderdale Lakes Fire Lt. Joe Fortnash, one of Mr. Canute's closest friends. "He was probably the most-liked guy in the entire fire service. He knew firefighters from across Broward County because they would bring their patients to the emergency room where he worked."
In July 2003, throngs of firefighters from across Broward played in a softball tournament to raise $9,000 to benefit Mr. Canute, who suffered from Berketts lymphoma, a rare form of cancer, Fortnash said.
Born on Dec. 10, 1958, in Detroit, Mr. Canute moved to Plantation as a child. He had a keen love of cars, fishing and golf, second only to his love of helping people, co-workers said.
"He loved to help people always. Constantly," Fortnash said. "This is the most devastating thing that has ever happened here."
Mr. Canute endured dozens of rounds of chemotherapy, confident he would win back his health, Fortnash said. At one point, he thought he had beaten the disease, but the illness re-emerged, Fortnash said.
Co-workers from the fire department refused to leave his side during the last days of his illness, driving him in a rescue truck from Jackson Memorial Hospital a week ago to his home and staying with Mr. Canute's family round the clock until his death.
He is survived by his wife, Heidi, and stepdaughter, Ashlee, both of Sunrise.
Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at T.M. Ralph Funeral Home, 7001 NW Fourth St., Plantation. Services will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. Afterward, a procession of fire trucks will head to Firefighters Park, at 2500 Rock Island Road, in Margate.
