Ruth Elizabeth "Betty" McClain Cassidy

"Ruth Elizabeth (McLain) Cassidy, known to her friends as Betty, was born July 6, 1923, in Camden, South Carolina, to Daisy Ruth (Hasty) and John Wesley McLain Sr. She died December 24, 2017, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Visitation will be at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 8833 Goodwood Boulevard, Baton Rouge, from 10:00 AM, Thursday, December 28, until religious services at 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate consideration of donations in her memory to the LSU Foundation for the James F. Cassidy Professorship, 3796 Nicholson Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70802; or Louisiana Key Academy, 3172 Government St., Baton Rouge, LA 70806. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband Jim Cassidy; her siblings, Evelyn Ponder, Lucille Shaw, Elise Schwalm, and John McLain Jr.; and her grandson, Jimmy Cassidy. She is survived by her sister Carolyn Jones of Huntsville, Alabama; her four sons and their wives, Jim and Sandy Cassidy of Randolph, Massachusetts, and David and Camille Cassidy, Steve and Jan Cassidy, and Bill and Laura Cassidy, all of Baton Rouge. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Amy, Karen, Debbie, Mark, Beth, Tyler, Betsy, Erin, Felix, Chandler, Brian, Camille, Dustin, Stephen, Allyson, Will, Meg, and Kate; her great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews, all of whom she loved deeply. She is also survived by her dear friends Marilyn and Roland Shapley and Laura Keister. The family would like to thank Gerry Hunt, Hattie Scales, Dianne Dubuisson, and Thelma Harris, who not only took care of her, but also became her friends and companions. She loved the fine arts and literature, especially poetry, and fostered the love of poetry in others through the Louisiana State Poetry Society. She was an avid reader of philosophy, which led her to develop her own, rather unique, outlook on life and to the burning of many a meal whenever she became engrossed in a particularly engaging passage. She took up painting later in life, and to her great amusement, and with some little pride, one of her paintings was mistaken for that of a French Impressionist. She supported her husband in his career as a New York Life Agent. She supported her sons in their endeavors, cheered their successes, consoled them in their failures, and overlooked their faults and frailties. She was the best mother a boy could ever have.