Cecilia Cassidy

1948 - 2023

Cecilia Ann Cassidy, 75, passed away November 2, 2023 in Frederick, MD. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, August 20, 1948, to Vincent William Cassidy and Ladis Irene Jarlowski, and grew up in beautiful Eastern Long Island. She lived in Arlington, Virginia for 45 years before moving to Frederick in 2019 to be close to her daughter.

She is survived by her daughter, Tara Anne Cassidy (Ray Manyoky) and grandson Sean Vincent Gatine, both of Frederick; three siblings: Carol Cassidy (Phil Arnold), of Waldport, OR; James Cassidy of Cranford New Jersey (Maureen O'Keefe); and Patricia Cassidy (Steven Flax) of Brooklyn, NY; four nieces and nephews and a host of lifelong and new friends.

Her career combined writing and editorial work with housing advocacy.

She worked as a reporter at the Susquehana Sentinel in Oneonta, NY, and went on to publish articles in many venues, including the The Washington Post, USA Today, Newsday, The George Washington University Forum, and various other newspapers and literary journals. Cecilia was named a 2014 Fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA).

Cecilia began her housing career tenant organizing at Arlington Village during a condo conversion in the 1980's. She worked in cooperation with Arlington County to establish the first limited-equity housing co-op in the State of Virginia.

She went on to work for The Arlington Housing Corporation as Community Relations Director, and then for James Rouse's Enterprise Foundation (now Enterprise Community Partners) as the Publications Editor. Cecilia was instrumental in the creation of Arlington's first Business Improvement District (BID) and subsequently served as Executive Director of the Rosslyn BID for over a decade. She was a member of the Leadership Arlington Class of 2000, and after retiring from the Rosslyn BID, was the part-time executive director of the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) for three years. She was also named to the board of directors of Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH).

She attended Southold H.S. of Long Island, NY, graduated from South Side High School, Rockville Center, NY and holds a B.A. in English & Journalism from the College of White Plains of Pace University. She also spent a junior semester abroad in England at Fairleigh Dickenson University's Wroxton College.

Cecilia's other great love was to travel. Her junior year abroad had her hitchhiking all over Europe. She did her first of many cross-country trips at the age of 21 in a refurbished telephone truck with Tara's playpen in the back and her sister Carol sharing the wheel. Over the years she visited friends in Poland, Russia and Puerto Rico, and after an extensive genealogy search, found long lost relatives in Ireland.

Cecilia was a connector and leaves many friends, old and new. She will be missed.

Funeral Arrangements:

Rollins Life Celebration Center. 330 Catoctin Avenue, Frederick, MD 21701. 301-6652-5520.

Viewing: Saturday, November 11, 2023 between 2 - 4pm and 6 - 8pm

Viewing for Family only: Sunday, November 12, 2023, 11:30 - 12:00pm

Service: Sunday, November 12, 2023, 12:00 - 1:00pm followed by a repass in the hall until 3pm.

Service will be webcast through the website: https://rollinslifecelebrationcenter.com/

In lieu of flowers, Cecilia has asked that you make a donation in her name to: The Writer's Center (Bethesda, MD), The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH), Affordable Homes & Communities, formerly Arlington Housing Corporation (AHC), or Wroxton College of Fairleigh Dickenson University.

A Memorial Mass and Inurnment will be scheduled for a date in spring/summer 2024 at her beloved Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Arlington, VA.

Cecilia Cassidy