Virginia "Wren" Cassidy

Virginia Wren Cassidy Virginia "Wren" (real middle name "Frances" (Fiumara) Cassidy bid a sweet "cheerio" to this life on Satur day, Au gust 1, 2009 in Orem, Utah, at the tender age of 93. She was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 25, 1916. Her father was a pianist with the Boston Symphony. Her grandfather was first violinist for that orchestra and played with the Boston Pops. Ginny played a mean piano herself, never failing to find naughty rhythms, even in church hymns. Virginia Wren spent nearly 50 years in broadcasting. According to the New York Times, she was considered the First Lady of Radio in Connecticut. Her interviews on WLAD with the famous and the not-so's numbered in the hundreds. The legendary singer Marian Anderson unfailingly called her "Dear Heart" from their early days as neighbor-friends in Mill Plain. She was endlessly curious about life, and lived it to the fullest, although she often said she was born in the wrong century. She ran away to join the circus at 18, doing a high-wire act, and married a handsome vaudevillian named Frank Cassidy in 1937, a happy union that enjoyed sixty-four years of mutual devotion before Cass passed away in 2002. She loved her books, her zestful garden, her cats and dogs and birds. She made maple syrup from her trees and even had bees in the backyard of her treasured New Fairfield home, "The Parsonage." She personified Auntie Mame's declaration that "life is a banquet" At age 10 she began a love affair with Peaks Island, Maine, where she reveled in the cool ocean breezes, bracing water, and fresh lobster. The island held a regenerative power that drew her to its unsullied shores. She reluctantly moved to Utah a few years ago to be with family, leaving lifelong friends and her beloved New England. She was never quite the same among "those depressing mountains," but wherever she landed she made friends easily. She was mother, champion, and cheerleader to three devoted sons who survive her: John (Val), of Airmont, New York; Alan (Renita) of Orem, Utah; and Mark of Salt Lake City, Utah; four grandchildren: Rebecca, Bridget (Daniel), Chelsea (Travis), and Patrick; five great-grandchildren: Gabriel, Alex, Jason, Boston, and Cassidy. Ginny was quietly devoted to service, whether charitable fundraising, volunteer work with the Salvation Army or her church, and a tireless supporter of the Danbury Concert Association. Countless friends, shut-ins, and the needy always found refuge in her sweet disposition and cheerful willingness to make their lives better. Her boundless energy on behalf of just causes, however, was anything but quiet. Friends may call at the Green Funeral Home, 57 Main Street, Danbury on Friday evening, August 7, 2009 from 5 to 7 pm. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, August 8, 2009 at the Danbury Ward, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 16 Saw Mill Road (junction of Rte 6 & 25), Newtown, Connecticut 06470, with viewing one hour prior to the service. Interment will be at the family plot at Mount Benedict's Cemetery in Boston.