By: The Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation (PCEDC) | 6.24.25
Pottawatomie County is home to some great people! In our “Meet Your Neighbors” series, we’ll introduce you.
Dr. David Cancelada is a general surgeon at Community HealthCare System in Onaga, KS where he has served as their general surgeon since 2017 and his wife, Dr. Antoinette Cancelada, is the dentist-owner for Flint Hills Dental Clinic in St. Marys. He and his family have been active in both the Wamego and St. Marys communities since 2006 when the military brought them to Fort Riley, KS.
Where are you originally from?
Dr. Cancelada is originally from St. Louis, Missouri. After joining the Army and entering active duty, he left his home state and spent the next 25 years primarily in the South, moving frequently between duty stations and deploying several times following 9/11. He met his wife in San Antonio, and the two have been together ever since. As the daughter of a service member herself, she was no stranger to the demands of military life and adapted well to the frequent relocations. However, as their family grew to include six children, the constant moves became increasingly challenging.
How long have you been living here? What brought you to Pottawatomie County?
Fort Riley brought Dr. David Cancelada and his family to the area in 2006, and they’ve called it home ever since. They chose to settle in Wamego because of its ideal location—about one-third of the way to St. Marys, where their children attended parochial school, and two-thirds of the way to Fort Riley, where David served as Chief of Surgery at Irwin Army Community Hospital. The rural setting appealed to them immediately and quickly became something they cherished. After transitioning out of the Army a few years later, they considered relocating but found no other community that matched the sense of belonging they had discovered in Wamego. Its location between Manhattan and Topeka also proved to be a lasting benefit, especially as several of their children pursued higher education in both cities.
Since establishing his surgical practice with Community HealthCare System in 2017, Dr. Cancelada has served patients throughout Onaga, St. Marys, Holton, and Topeka, while also collaborating with Stormont Vail Medical Center. His involvement in the region deepened further when he joined the board of the Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation in 2021, followed by a seat on the Kaw Valley Chamber of Commerce board in 2023. Both roles have given him a deeper understanding of the county’s economic landscape and challenges.
In 2018, David and his wife ventured into small business ownership when she opened her first dental clinic in the area. A trained dentist, she had stepped away from her career to raise their children, later completing an advanced general dentistry residency at UMKC in 2012. Returning to practice after a long hiatus came with challenges but also blessings—particularly in learning modern techniques and gaining a renewed passion for her work. Although operating a solo dental practice in a rural setting has proven financially difficult due to rising costs and low insurance reimbursements, the experience has given their family valuable insight into the realities of small business ownership in Pottawatomie County.
What’s your favorite thing about living here?
Dr. Cancelada would say that one of the greatest blessings has been living in a rural setting—something he and his family have come to deeply value. After years of country life, the idea of returning to a city feels unimaginable; a recent trip to Chicago left him feeling claustrophobic. His children grew up with room to roam—gathering eggs from their chickens, raising ducks on a pond, caring for horses, and running freely across open fields. In his view, they had a true childhood, full of hands-on experiences and connection to the land. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, David often found himself thinking, thank God we live in a rural setting.
Want to be a featured Pottawatomie County Neighbor? Contact Shanna Goodman at Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation (PCEDC) at shanna@ecodevo.com.
More:
Get to Know Your Community: St Marys.
