Mary "Jan" Jeanette Cassidy

Jan Cassidy went to be with our Lord on August 3, 2023 at the age of 82 after a short bout with pneumonia.

Jan was born Mary Jeanette Cassidy on July 18, 1941 in a small desert town in Southern California. She moved quite a bit as a child but she always thought of Ventura, California as her hometown and it’s where she attended High School. It was in Ventura where she found a love for the ocean, seashells and sand pipers. Even her nickname “little pebble” came from this love of the beach; a nickname given to her by her beloved Uncle Chuck and Aunt Dean. She enjoyed going to the ocean on hot summer days and sitting by the fire at night.

Jan loved dancing, especially as a teenager, and she won quite a few local dance competitions with her first boyfriend, Pinky Salcedo, who was the 5th of five boys in his family. She also had a great love of ice and roller skating and spoke with fondness of that time in her life when she competed and earned many awards. She sewed many of her skating outfits by hand and worked at the skating Pro Shop as a way to earn the money to buy the parts she couldn’t sew. She also looked forward with great anticipation, the Winter Olympics so she could watch ice skating.

At age 16 she was involved in a serious motorcycle accident which fueled her desire to eventually become a nurse where she had great empathy and caring for all those she treated. She excelled at nursing and was encouraged by her colleagues to further her education. She attended night school at Pacific Christian College while working and raising her family. She earned her Bachelor’s in Nursing but didn’t stop there. She continued her training and became a charge nurse, a surgical nurse, an intensive care nurse, a clinical specialist and a trauma specialist, working in the Emergency Room for over 10 years. She was also instrumental in writing part of the city of San Diego’s disaster plan that is still used today. One of the things that gave her the greatest joy, however, were the times she traveled with a volunteer medical team to treat those in Mexico who suffered from birth defects such as cleft lip. She always teared up when she spoke about the joy of the moms who saw their children after surgery. Her career in nursing spanned the length of 50 years where she worked in many hospitals, as a patient advocate for insurance and finally teaching nursing students.

Later in life, one of her great joys was growing roses. She prided herself on picking out just the right ARS roses and her neighbors passed her house each day just to see their beauty. Jan also loved to bless others with her cooking. She enjoyed potlucks with friends and was always delivering food to those around her who were sick or in need. On her favorite holiday, Christmas, she enjoyed baking banana bread and making the recipe for See’s candy to give out as presents. She was always looking for ways to bring joy to the lives of others and blessed many a baby with a handmade baby quilt.

Jan is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Kelley & Michael Sedgwick, her daughter, Laura Pearson, and her son and daughter-in-law, Joshua & Sarah Caldwell as well as countless family, friends, and neighbors. There will be a service on Sept 15 at the Chapel of the Roses, Glen Abbey Memorial Park & Mortuary in Chula Vista, CA (3838 Bonita Rd, Chula Vista, CA 91902) at 11am. Jan will then be interred at Glen Abbey Memorial Park & Mortuary in Chula Vista.

A Memorial Service for Jan will be held Friday, September 15, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at The Chapel of Roses.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.glenabbeysandiego.net for the Cassidy family.