The Rev. Robert Cassidy, of Edina, was a Catholic priest who got things done -- including converting an all-girls school to a co-educational facility and serving as an educational leader for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.
Cassidy, 78, died Sept. 8 in Edina after suffering a head injury in a fall.
In the mid-1940s, he graduated from St. Thomas Academy, then in St. Paul. After graduating with a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota, he received a doctorate at St. Paul Seminary in 1958, the year he was ordained.
Later, he would earn a master's degree in education from the University of Minnesota and help lead Catholic schools in the Twin Cities.
From 1958 to 2002, he served schools and parishes at the Church of the Incarnation, Minneapolis; St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Minneapolis; St. Mary's Catholic Church, Waverly; Academy of Holy Angels, Richfield; St. Mark's Catholic Church, Shakopee, and Our Lady of Grace, Edina.
From 1972 to 1977, he was principal of Holy Angels. He was assigned there to manage the conversion of the then-girls high school to a co-educational school, said his friend and colleague, the Rev. Peter Wittman, pastor at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Shakopee.
Wittman said he also oversaw the construction of the school's football stadium.
"He could get through difficult situations very easily ... because he could work with people of all backgrounds," Wittman said. "He really was a people person. He took the Gospel message and related it very well to ordinary living in his homilies."
While at Holy Angels, he also served as superintendent of all high schools in the archdiocese.
Neil McGraw, of Minneapolis, a friend of Cassidy's since boyhood, said, "He'd go up against all kinds of obstacles and get things done. He was a calm and dynamic guy."
"He gave an excellent homily and it was never too long," his friend said.
Cassidy was also an amateur chef who took cooking classes in Italy. "You would think you were at the finest restaurant," McGraw said of the meals he served.
For the archdiocese, he was a fundraiser and a human resources leader.
He served at Our Lady of Grace from 1985 to 2002, overseeing completion of construction work there.
Since 1986, he had served on the board of St. Therese homes for seniors in the Twin Cities, raising money and helping it to grow, said John LeBlanc, St. Therese's development director. "He kept us on task, and was a good behind-the-scenes leader," LeBlanc said.
Cassidy retired in 2002. He had no immediate surviving family members. Services have been held.
