Eugene Cassioppi

Eugene "Gene" Edward Cassioppi, 93, of Rockford, passed away peacefully at his home on December 7, 2023. He was born on December 28, 1929, in Rockford, Illinois, where he was raised by his parents, Mary (Bogdonas) and Joseph S. Cassioppi at 234 North Chicago Avenue, who together owned and operated Joe's Shoe Service on 7th Street for many years.
Gene attended Lincoln Junior High and graduated from East High School in 1947, participating in a variety of sports, and obtained his B.S. degree from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1953. Along with his classmates from Rockford-uncle Bob Bogdonas, cousin Don Bogdonas and long-time friend Cliff Brees, he started at Center for the undefeated 1952 Iowa Wesleyan Conference Champion Football team, which was inducted into the Iowa Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Fame.
After serving as an Army Corporal, including time in post-war Korea from 1953-1955, he returned home and married his college sweetheart, Norma Jean Dollman on Aug. 27, 1955, in Muscatine, Iowa. They settled in Rockford, where they began raising their family. Gene started teaching and coaching in 1959 at Cherry Valley Junior High School, beginning a coaching career that would include eight decades. In 1962, the family moved to Guttenberg, Iowa where Gene taught and continued to coach a variety of junior high sports, including football, track, and boys' and girls' basketball. The family then headed to the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, in 1965, where he obtained his M.S. in Education.
Returning to Rockford, Gene began teaching at Guilford High School in the fall of 1966. In 1968, he became the boys' diving coach at Guilford, teaming up with his eventual best friend, Don May, Guilford's swim coach. This began a lifetime of enjoyed dedication and commitment to high school swimming and diving, and hundreds of high school athletes, becoming fondly known as Coach "Cass". He was Guilford's boys' diving coach for 45 seasons (1968-2008/2010-2014); girls' diving coach for 19 seasons (1977-1993/2011-2013); head girls' swim coach for 13 seasons (1979-1995); hosted many local and US diving camps; and was a speaker at numerous diving clinics. Gene continued working with talented divers from many different schools during the past few years.
Among his many accomplishments as Guilford's diving coach, was the opportunity and honor to work with and coach 71 Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Meet Qualifiers, 50 IHSA State Meet Finalists, 33 All-Americans, and 10 IHSA State Diving Champions (7 boys and 3 girls titles)-the most by any single coach in Illinois. Gene was awarded the IHSA State Diving Coach of the Year 10 times. Of special note, he was the only Illinois coach with both boys and girls IHSA State Diving Champions in the same school year (1984-1985).
As Guilford's head girls' swim coach, Gene was honored to have had 3 IHSA state champions, one national champion and 15 All-Americans. He was also The Rockford Register Star's overall girls' sports coach of the year in 1991.
Gene was inducted into the Illinois Diving Hall of Fame in 1984, Illinois Swimming Coaches Hall of Fame in 1991, Guilford Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011 and Rockford Public Schools Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015. He also received the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) Outstanding Service Award in 2012 and co-founded the May-Cassioppi Scholarship Fund.
Finally, to round out his many decades of coaching, Gene was the Boylan High School girls' assistant diving coach during this fall's 2023 season, coaching Boylan's divers through their performance in the IHSA Sectional meet in November. During his coaching career, he truly considered it a privilege to be a part of, and influence on, so many young people's lives.
Gene loved spending time with his family, kids and grandkids as a devoted and loving husband, father and grandfather. Special memories include many family camping trips, Cubs games, attending their sporting events and special family celebrations. During his free time, he stayed fit by running, loved to fish, was an avid golfer in retirement, playing almost daily with his many golfing friends and was a loyal member of the Rockford Lithuanian Club for many decades.
He is survived by his children, Gerald (Stephanie) of Naperville, Julie (Rodney) Wright of Visalia, Calif., and James (Lisa) of Willow Springs; grandchildren, Megan (Caleb) Wieland, Lindsey (Zachary) French, Andrew (Elisabeth Jozef), Peter, Benjamin and Anna Cassioppi; and two great-grandchildren on the way. Predeceased by his wife Norma, parents and baby brother, Joseph.
Celebration of Life will be 3:00p.m. Saturday, January 6, at Stonebridge Church, 5183 Pebble Creek Trail, Loves Park. Visitation from 1:30-3:00 p.m. preceding the service at the church. Memorials can be made to the May-Cassioppi Scholarship Fund, online at: or mail to: Community Foundation of Northern Illinois, 946 N. Second St., Rockford, IL 61107; or to Stonebridge Church. To share a memory or online condolence, visit olsonfh.com .