Obituary: Dennis Donald Cassidy

February 27, 1953 – March 14, 2024

May 3, 2024

Dennis on his first solo flight in the Cessna 150. His passion for flying took him to the skies for many years. Dennis Donald Cassidy, 1953-2024. Undated family photo.

Dennis Donald Cassidy, 71, beloved father, Opa, and husband, lost his hard-fought battle with the devastating disease, PSP (Progressive Supranuclear Palsy), on March 14, 2024. 

Dennis was born on February 27, 1953 to Marcella and Donald Cassidy in Schenectady, New York, but was raised in Lincroft, New Jersey. Dennis and his two older brothers, Michael and Patrick, called Lincroft home through high school. 

Dennis developed a love of travel and adventure when he graduated high school and spent the next few years exploring California and Europe with his best friends. He embraced life with an open mind and welcomed new experiences. His adventurous spirit was always accompanied with a kind and warm smile. Dennis just had one of those kinds of presences – the type where you can’t help but take notice of him but you were also captivated by his soft heart. If you were lucky enough to know him, he made you feel like you were the most important person in the world. 

After his worldly adventures with his friends, he purchased a Dairy Queen in Lincroft, where he was known as the “Ice Cream Man.” During his Dairy Queen years, he met his wife Rose and became a father to two girls, Melissa and Lauren. Dennis was the best “girl dad” and absolutely loved being a father. He was known for making the best birthday ice cream cakes, making epic snow forts, and taking afternoon swims where he embraced his kid-at-heart energy that brought pure joy into his daughters’ childhood. 

After making people smile with Dilly Bars and Blizzards for 11 years, Dennis and his family moved to Waterbury, Vermont, where they set down roots 28 years. During this time, Dennis, who often found purpose in helping others, became his father’s primary caregiver for six years while his father battled Alzheimer’s. After his father’s passing, he joined the crew at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters where he was a machine operator for many years before retiring. 

From ice cream to coffee, he always took pride in his work and his work ethic was rewarded when he was chosen to travel to Guatemala to learn about the farms and way of life of the families that cultivated coffee for GMCR. He was always ready for his next adventure whether that was traveling or becoming a pilot himself, a favorite pastime and passion of his for many years. 

Living in Waterbury for 28 years allowed friends to become more like family, and Dennis loved hosting barbeques where everyone could come over and enjoy all his homemade food. He would man the grill all day long making sure that whomever showed up had a plate of warm food and a container of leftovers to bring home. He was happiest helping others and would always do whatever he could – from regularly donating blood or donating to the local food shelf. 

After retiring from Green Mountain Coffee, Dennis embraced relaxation from traveling to places that had warm, turquoise ocean waters or taking daily walks locally in Vermont. He was not one to sit idly. However, perhaps his greatest joy came later in life where he proudly earned the title of Opa. We don’t think there is anything he loved more than being an Opa to his four grandchildren – Mia, Keegan, Ava, and Carter. Being around his grandchildren brightened his world and theirs. As amazing a father he was to his two girls, he was an even more incredible grandfather to his four grandchildren. Even in his last few years he was always ready to play with them, pick them up from school, and be their biggest supporter. 

There is so much to say about Dennis, but on March 14, we truly lost a good one, a genuine altruist. He was such a wonderful soul – a kind and brilliant man, father, grandfather, husband, and friend. He is leaving behind a legacy of love and for that we are grateful. Rest peacefully in paradise, Dennis.

Anyone wishing to make a memorial contribution in his honor might consider paying it forward as Dennis did by donating blood, donating to the local food shelf, or contributing to the nonprofit CurePSP.org to help find a cure for this devastating disease.