Loving husband, brother, uncle, son, friend.
John peacefully passed, at the age of 89, at home with his wife of 35 years, Gini by his side. Though he has left us, his spirit will live on within us indefinitely.
John is preceded in death by his parents, John and Emma Cassidy, sister, Dorothy, sons John and Michael Cassidy.
John was born in San Francisco and was a very active boy growing up in “The City”. He was an altar boy and often he would take the bus to Fleishhacker Pools and Playland to meet up with friends. His family lived in a flat and John would run from roof to roof to get to a friend’s house! He and his friends would get together and play baseball with the kids in the projects. They played in the railroad yard and the railroad guys would keep an eye on the kids.
As a graduate of Serra High School, in San Mateo, he continued to play the game of baseball. A staunch supporter of Serra, you could hear him yell “Go Serra” especially when playing against Bellarmine, their rival opponents. John also participated in a traveling baseball league where his family would attend every game to watch him play. Win or lose, John’s love of the game was just playing.
John was a lifelong fan of the San Francisco Giants, previously known as the N.Y. Giants and followed the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League (Minor League). Both teams played at Seal Stadium.
John served his country in the Air Force. While stationed in Japan, the highlights were being in charge of the typing pool, inspecting napalm bombs, having a houseboy and beer!
His eye hand coordination was impressive and came in handy when he would play billiards, horseshoes, and bowl.
In his early 40’s, John became very passionate about bowling and missed it after he could no longer bowl. John participated on highly competitive teams until he changed to senior leagues. He even played in a local Pro-Am tournament with Pro Jason Couch. He made many good friends while bowling; Miles Okada, Barbara and Bobby Coker, Norm Faria and Robert Martinez to name a few.
Bowling with the family was a true joy for him. He and Gini visited out of town family members often and loved it when the family went bowling…especially watching the kids! Pure fun!
John is survived by his wife Gini, his brother Michael Cassidy (DeAnna), his 3 daughters, Karen Hunt, Kathy Morris and Kelly Trani, mother-in-law, Ruth Arthur, brother-in-law, Kelly Chew (Carolyn) and sister-in-law, Bernadette Chew. He also leaves 9 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He loved talking to all of the ‘kids’ and he would talk about the call for days afterwards. When he received a note from them, he would re-read from time-to-time.
John was a good friend, good man and I could not of had a more wonderful husband.
God bless you, Rest in Peace.
Please do not send flowers. Thanks for the thought. Gini