Phyllis D. Cassidy

Phyllis D. Cassidy, age 95, died quietly at Summit Place of North Myrtle Beach the morning of December 25, 2020. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, she was born March 27, 1925, to her parents Philip Henry and Dorothy Anna Coad.

Throughout her life, Phyllis passionately loved her Savior and music. While growing up, she played piano in a family band with her father and three brothers (Donald, Allen and Arthur). She became a member of the Parma Presbyterian Church in Parma, Ohio as a youth, and as a young adult she became the church pianist. She also worked at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the predecessor to today’s NASA.

After marrying Frank Cassidy, the family moved to Gillette, Wyoming, where she joined the Order of the Eastern Star. After five years, the family returned to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, where Phyllis became the pianist for Hudson Drive Presbyterian Church. Later, she and Frank became active members of Northminster Presbyterian Church where Phyllis was a leader in the music program, serving both as organist and pianist. Phyllis was a stay-at-home mother until her children started school. She then worked as a bookkeeper in a hardware store, in administration for an insurance company, and later in administration for a public utility.

Phyllis became a member of Ocean Drive Presbyterian Church in 1987 when she moved to Little River. There, she served as pianist for 15 years. She loved working with the church choir, playing in the Young at Heart ensemble in venues throughout the Myrtle Beach area, and harmonizing with the Long Bay symphony for the Christmas and July 4th All-City Cantatas. She also enjoyed going to the beach as often as she could.

Left to cherish her memory are her daughters, Susan Scheetz (Fred) of Calabash, NC; Sharon Murphy of Calabash, NC; Bonnie Cirrincione (Joe) of Little River; and her son Frank Case Cassidy, Jr. (Mia) of Navarre, FL. Additionally, she leaves two special sisters-in-law, Ruth Coad of Bowling Green, KY and Shirley Coad of Altamonte Springs, FL, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Phyllis was preceded in death by her father, mother, three brothers and her grandson, Jack Scheetz.

Special thanks are given to the staff at Summit Place for their kind and loving care, and to Donna Vereen in particular, who continuously cared for Phyllis throughout her two-year stay there.

Phyllis will be interred at Ocean Drive Presbyterian Church’s Memorial Gardens. A memorial service will be held at the church on a later date. Memorial contributions in Phyllis’ name are encouraged to: Ocean Drive Presbyterian Church, PO Box 277, North Myrtle Beach, SC 29597. To leave an online memory please visit Lee Funeral home at [email protected].

A guestbook is available at www.leefhandcrematory.com

Lee Funeral Home and Crematory of Little River/North Myrtle Beach is serving the family.