John Leonard Cantrell

John Leonard Cantrell, 72 of Corvallis died of natural causes on December 5th, 2011 in Corvallis, Montana.
He was born into a cattle ranching family on February 7th, 1939 in Billings, Montana. His parents are Leonard and Gladys Cantrell.
He is preceded in death by a daughter, Pegi and a son, John, his father, Leonard and brother, James Lee.
Survivors include his wife, Patricia, his daughters Mary (Richard) and Stephanie (Michael), grandchildren: Heather, Paydn, Collin, Gabrielle and Emily.
He served in the Navy and Marines as a Medical Corpsman. John received his Bachelors degree in pre-med, his Master, Doctorate and Post Doctorate in Medical Microbiology and immunology. In 1976, he moved to Hamilton to work at Rocky Mountain Laboratory. In 1980-81 he co-founded Ribi ImmunoChem Research Inc. with Dr. Edgar Ribi.
Dr. Cantrell developed the first cancer vaccine for melanoma. He holds over 15 cancer patents. He also developed an adjuvant that lead to the creation or efficacy of an HPV vaccine, a Hepatitis B vaccine, a Malaria vaccine and is in clinical vaccines that are undergoing trails for the treatment of shingles, lung cancer, and melanoma.
John was a man of widely varied talents and interests. He was equally at home in the research laboratory or fishing along one of Montana's streams. He was an avid wild life photographer, and painter. He also enjoyed Cutting horse competition, winning many buckles and trophies. He was also an enthusiastic golfer.
Donations may be made to Bitterroot Therapeutic Riding, 599 Popham Lane, Corvallis, Montana 59828 or the Presbyterian Deacons Fund, c/o First Presbyterian Church, 1220 W. Main St., Hamilton, MT 59840.