Kathleen Cassie (both Kathleen Mott, known to all as Kathy), 76, of Newbury Park, California passed away on September 24, 2024 in Newbury Park, California. Kathy was born in South Weymouth, Massachusetts to Hubert R. Mott and Elaine Flathers on October 24, 1947. She went to high school at Weymouth High School and graduated in 1965. She volunteered enthusiastically for organizations committed to bettering women’s health and safety, in particular Independence House of Hyannis, Massachusetts, where she served on the board of directors. Her enjoying a long career of managing vacation properties on Cape Cod before illness compelled her to retire. She relocated from Massachusetts to Southern California in 2005, where, as she had done in Massachusetts, she quickly developed a number of passionate, long-term volunteer commitments to health organizations, in particular those providing hospice services. She was cited and awarded for her volunteer work in women’s health and safety by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and by the State of California for her volunteer work in hospice. She was volunteer of the year for Vitas Hospice in the 2010s. She performed these volunteer duties with enthusiasm and skill until just days before her passing. A Scrabble enthusiast for decades, she was always up for a game or two (or three) and was widely viewed as a shark by people with doctoral degrees and fancy vocabularies. Stories of her victories in the game are well-known to her friends. She loved playing the game, and especially loved winning it. She was a crochet enthusiast for many decades as well, with her handcrafted afghans, hats, mittens (fingerless and otherwise) being much appreciated and gracing the homes of families throughout the world. She was well-known on both coasts for her baking, having amassed a set of recipes from a variety of sources to which she applied her particular modifications to make them uniquely her own. Quick breads, cookies, pies and legendary brownies were a source of great pride for her and rightly so. In later life, she began candy making, for which she showed customary skill and talent. Like her volunteering duties, she continued her baking until just recently. There was no one on this Earth who liked holidays more than Kathy, in particular Halloween, for which she showed special appreciation. She was justly proud of her award-winning turns as the character Beetlejuice and regularly appeared as that character during the season. Of course, Thanksgiving and Christmas gave her the opportunity to show off her baking and to shower love on her family and friends, which will be how we all remember her best. She was an extraordinary mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, wife and friend to all who met her and knew her. Kind, warm, friendly, inviting and loving to all, her generosity of spirit has raised up so many and given strength to those who needed it.
Kathy is survived by her two children, Jonathan Cassie of Newbury Park, California and Stephanie Grabowski of Newbury Park, California; her sister Pamela Whiting of Abington, Massachusetts; her grandchildren Thomas Benevides of Parkville, Maryland, Darren Benevides of Wareham, Massachusetts, Zachary Benevides of Wareham, Massachusetts, Timothy Benevides of Wareham, Massachusetts and Jonathan Benevides of Newbury Park, California; her nephews Jeffrey Ruhr of Rockland, Massachusetts and Jason Ostman of South Weymouth, Massachusetts; her nieces Julie Twofoot of Abington, Massachusetts and Nikki Lemont of Plympton, Massachusetts and by her sons-in-law William John Mundy of Newbury Park, California and Michael Grabowski of Newbury Park, California.
Kathy was preceded in death by her husband Herbert Cassie, her parents Hubert Mott and Elaine Flathers and her sister Deborah Ostman. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Independence House, 160 Bassett Lane, Hyannis, Massachusetts 02601.
Funeral services will be held at the Bourne National Cemetery on Friday, October 18, 2024 at 2pm. Jonathan Cassie will be officiating. Celebrations of Life ceremonies will be held in Newbury Park, California on October 5 and in Massachusetts on October 19. Arrangements are under the direction of Joseph R. Reardon Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 757 E. Main Street, Ventura, California.