Christina E. Cassidy, 25, formerly of Leesburg, VA and most recently of Newark, NJ, went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, September 3 with her loving family surrounding her. She is the beloved daughter of Kevin and Helen (nee Piatnochka) Cassidy of Leesburg and the cherished sister of Kaitlin Cassidy.
Christina was born in Georgia and moved to Virginia when she was in the third grade. She graduated from Loudon County High School in 2009 and from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013 where she studied Psychology and Anthropology. While at Pitt she interned at the FBI and served on the Pitt Program Counsel. After graduating from Pitt, she returned to Virginia and worked as an intern investigator for the Public Defender's Service in Washington, D.C. Most recently she successfully completed her first year of law school at Rutgers in Newark, NJ.
Many considered Chris a best friend because she was just that. She was a great listener, witty, upbeat, and always smiling and encouraging. Most of all, she was the best friend to her younger sister. Chris was her protector, confidante and cheerleader.
Chris always amazed us with her various talents. She played the drums in her high school marching band and was self-taught on the guitar and piano. She had a wonderful, powerful voice, and often wrote songs for her friends' birthdays, or just any day. Her talents also extended to videography and editing. What started out as making parodies of TV shows, developed into paid gigs, such as weddings and corporate events.
Chris loved sports. She was born a Jets fan and enjoyed going to games with her PopPop and family. Although, football was her favorite sport to follow, she also paid homage to her birth city of Atlanta by rooting for the Braves. She even grew to like the Nats in her 11 years of living in the D.C. area. Chris felt a connection with each city she lived near. Despite her love to explore new urban places, she always planned to settle down in New York City.
Chris had a gift of understanding people. With every opportunity she had through college, internships and jobs, she expended her hard work and open heart to broaden the reach of justice. Her biggest drive to attend law school was to help break the caustic cycles of underprivileged neighborhoods.
Christina's life was full, but ended all too soon following injuries sustained as a pedestrian in a vehicular accident. Given the promise that her talents and heart for humanity held, her passing is a loss to all the lives she would have touched. We know that she is with the Lord, but leaves behind a large family and many friends who will miss her unceasingly until we meet again.
Predeceased by her maternal grandparents Timothy and Mary (nee Demsyn) Piatnochka and an uncle, she leaves behind her paternal grandparents Frank and Kathleen (Carroll) Cassidy, nine aunts and uncles with their spouses, many cousins and their spouses as well as close friends from college, law school and work.
Family will receive friends on Friday, September 9, 2016 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Colonial Funeral Home of Leesburg, 201 Edwards Ferry Rd., Leesburg, VA 20176.
Funeral Services will be held at Cornerstone Chapel, 742 Miller Drive, SE, Leesburg, VA 20176 at 10:00am. Interment will follow at Ebenezer Cemetery, 20421 Airmont Road, Bluemont, VA.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the D'Brickashaw Ferguson Foundation
"Building Communities One Brick at a Time"
http://www.dbrickashawfergusonfoundation.org/
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