Cassidy, Pierre R.
Pete died peacefully of natural causes on June 2, 2009 in Rancho Mirage, California. His daughter was by his side.
He was born in Scranton, PA on July 27, 1921, the son of Mark A. Cassidy and Ida Harrioo Cassidy. His childhood was split between the small French town of Annay-la-C'te and Warrensburg, New York. He developed a life-long passion for golf, growing up on the grounds of a course designed by his father, a landscape architect. He graduated from Warrensburg High School and attended Cornell for a semester before receiving an appointment to the United States Naval Academy.
There he was a member of USNA golf team, but with the outbreak of the World War II, his 1944 class was accelerated and he received a posting as an Ensign on the U.S.S. Tennessee in October 1943. In 1944, he returned from the Pacific for flight school and marriage to Elaine Frances Lash of Chicago.
After the war, Pete and his new family settled in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park and he began a career in electrical engineering. In 1963, he joined Bechtel Corporation in Gaithersburg, MD. His work with Bechtel took him to Ann Arbor, Michigan and Montreal and finally to Norwalk, California as a Senior VP with Bechtel International Power.
He retired in 1985. With time for travel and golf, he played many of the world-class golf courses in the U.S. and Europe. After Elaine Cassidy's sudden death in 1994, Pete met and married Sarah Warren. They lived in Rancho Mirage and Big Fork, Montana.
Pete is survived by his second wife, Sarah; his two brothers, Jacques and Mark (Bo) Cassidy, his three children, Andrew P. Cassidy of Berkeley; Wendy C. Dorfman of Santa Ana; and Jay L. Cassidy of Los Angeles; and five granddaughters; and his sister-in-law, Ellen Lash.
Those who knew him know that he was a teacher, a listener, and a generous, thoughtful gentleman. We will all miss his sense of humor, his smile, his warmth and his loyalty to his family and friends.
Pete's family will hold a private service. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to American Friends of Blerancourt, 8 West 38th St., Suite 200, New York, NY, 10018, and/or Martha Lloyd Community Services, 190 W. Main St., Troy, PA 16947 in Pete's memory.
Published in Los Angeles Times on 6/28/2009