Blanche Mary Simonsen

Blanche was born at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan on May 14, 1933. That year, May 14 fell on Mother’s Day—a fitting coincidence for a woman who would spend much of her life caring for others. She was born with a clubfoot, which was corrected by surgery when she was four years old.

Blanche was the daughter of the late Joseph and Felicita Inez “Aggie” (Cummings) Green, both immigrants to the United States. Her father, Joseph, came from a Yiddish-speaking family from Eastern Europe, probably Poland. Her mother, Aggie, came from Yauco, Puerto Rico, along with her twelve siblings. Blanche loved her parents dearly and especially enjoyed being Daddy’s little girl. She also formed strong, lifelong relationships with her many aunts and cousins and would do her utmost throughout her life to offer them her love and support.

Curious about her family’s heritage, Blanche and her younger sister, Kathleen “Katy” Frank, searched for information about their father’s background at the Boston Public Library. There they examined census records in their effort to learn more about their family and discovered that their father’s family had been recorded as Yiddish speakers. Blanche later organized a trip to Puerto Rico to learn more about her mother’s family and roots. Her husband, cousin Ethel Balbina “Biny” Halpin and her daughter, Karen, accompanied Blanche on that journey.

Blanche graduated from Grace Dodge High School in the Bronx in 1951. She had the distinction of graduating with the fourth-highest score in bookkeeping, her favorite subject. She put that talent to good use in a succession of jobs, including positions with Finlay-Strauss Stores in New York, Castro Convertible in New Hyde Park, and, finally, Sears in Hicksville, where she worked in the customer service department.

In 1956, Blanche married Farrell Cassidy of Astoria, Queens. As their family grew, they lived briefly in Flushing before moving to Hicksville, NY, where Blanche, her husband, and their children—Michael, born in 1960; Matthew, born in 1962; and Karen Ann, born in 1963—made their home at 12 Fox Place for the next twenty-five years.

When her first marriage ended in divorce, Blanche later married Lawrence “Larry” Sarandrea in 1984. They were very happy together and welcomed family and friends into their home for many gatherings. Their life together was cut short when Larry unexpectedly died of a heart attack in 1989.

Two years later, Blanche married Christian “Chris” Simonsen. They shared thirty-four years together and made their home at Leisure Village in Ridge, where they enjoyed many years of marriage and family life. Toward the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, as their need for additional care increased, Blanche and Chris moved to All American Assisted Living in Coram, NY. After Chris died in 2025, Blanche remained in Coram until her family moved her to The Charter of Danvers in Massachusetts, a memory care community where she received daily care and participated in activities.

Three qualities especially marked Blanche’s life: she was generous with what she had, courageous when life demanded difficult choices, and deeply caring toward the people she loved.

Her generosity was evident from an early age. With the income from her first job, she helped furnish her parents’ apartment, giving back to them in a very practical way for all they had given her. She was generous not only with material things but also with her time, energy, and affection. She cared for her Aunt Bina and later cared for her mother in her own home in Hicksville. Throughout her life, she remained attentive to the needs of her family and extended family, offering her love and support whenever she could.

Blanche was never shy about expressing her opinions—whether you wanted to hear them or not. One of those convictions was her determination that her children receive a Catholic education. Although public schools were available to them, Blanche was adamant that her children attend Holy Family Catholic School for their elementary education. When her son, Matthew, informed her of acceptance into the Society of Jesus, Blanche’s immediate response was “What about grandchildren!” Just as quickly, she was filled with motherly pride for her son and would support him throughout his ministries.

Blanche was also courageous. She experienced difficult and painful moments in her life, but she did not allow them to defeat her. When efforts to reconcile her first marriage failed, she faced the difficult decision to seek a divorce and later to ask the Catholic Church to examine the validity of that marriage. She undertook that process with faith and determination, and her first marriage was eventually declared null by the Church. She then found the courage to begin again, marrying Larry Sarandrea and, after his unexpected death, later marrying Chris Simonsen. Through the joys and sorrows of her life, Blanche continued to move forward, finding ways to love and care for the people around her.

Perhaps the clearest expression of Blanche’s caring, loving nature was the devotion she showed to her family throughout her life. She cared for her parents, her Aunt Bina, her mother, her sister and extended family, and devoted herself to her children and grandchildren. In her later years, when she and Chris could no longer remain independently at Leisure Village, the roles slowly changed. After Chris’s death, her children, especially Karen, stepped in to care for her as her needs increased. In many ways, they were simply returning the love and care she had given them throughout their lives. They strove to take care of the one who had spent so much of her life taking care of them.

Blanche was a parishioner of Holy Family Church in Hicksville, NY, and later of St. Mark Roman Catholic Church in Shoreham, NY. Her faith, her family, and her willingness to care for others were central to the life she lived.

She is survived by her sons, Michael Cassidy (Debbie) and the Rev. Matthew Cassidy, S.J.; her daughter, Karen Berg (Frederic); four grandchildren, Allison Berg (Brian Van Parys), Teresa Berg, Kaitlin Cassidy, and Joseph Cassidy; her sister, Kathleen “Katy” Frank; nieces Mary Frank (Caron Gelfand) and Barbara Frank (Nancy Scotto); and nephew John Frank (Keli Liu).

Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated by her son, Fr. Matthew Cassidy, S.J., on Friday, September 18, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Family Church, 17 Fordham Avenue, Hicksville, NY 11801.

Relatives and friends are invited to the wake on Thursday, September 17, 2026, at Vernon C. Wagner Funeral Home, 125 W. Old Country Road, from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Interment will take place at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury, NY.

Memorial donations may be made to the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), directing them toward the ministry at Xavier High School in Micronesia, https://www.jesuitseast.org/

"Footnote: This obituary was modeled in style after the obituary James Martin, S.J. wrote for his late mother."