FUNERAL SERVICE: Tuesday, May 26, 2026, 2:30PM at Greenwood Cemetery, 1173 Cascade Circle SW, Atlanta, GA, 30311

LIVESTREAM: Please click here to attend the funeral service via livestream.
     Meeting ID: 880 5084 3013
     Passcode: 436739

SHIVA: Shiva will be for one day on Tuesday at 6pm following the funeral at 2471 Kingscliff Drive, Atlanta, GA 30345.

OBITUARY
Michael Baer Cantor, 82, died peacefully on 05/23/2026 after enduring Parkinson’s Disease for many years. Michael (Mike) was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Sidney and Bertha Cantor. He grew up in Philadelphia and obtained his bachelor’s degree from Knox College, later earning his PhD from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A brief professorship in Emory University’s psychology department brought him to Atlanta, where he studied feeding and reward behavior in rats. He went on to found WayPoint Research, Inc., studying automobile crash prediction and information theory as it related to juggling and baseball.

He loved spending time outdoors, whether riding his bike, camping, or taking long walks with his black standard poodles, first Bim, then Sparky. An avid reader and life-long learner, his interests ranged from evolution and orangutans to presidential history, Jewish studies, and magic tricks. He had an expansive vocabulary, using words that forced his audience to pull out a dictionary even in his final months.

Throughout his life, music consistently brought him joy—from saxophone in his high school marching band to recorder ensembles in adulthood. In his last year, he exemplified the fact that it’s never too late to learn a new instrument when he acquired a Hohner harmonica and began performing classics such as “Oh Susanna” and “Country Roads.” He was never without a song to sing or a joke to tell.

He is survived by his brother, David Cantor (Mary Thorngren), his sister, Diane Fishbein, his two beloved daughters, Anna Cantor and Isabella Cantor, his grandson Celyn Munro, and many special nephews, cousins, and friends. His family wishes to express their deepest gratitude to his caregivers, especially Santonya Couson, Raquel Raspberry, and Christy Love.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to APOPO-Hero Rats or Project Chimps.