Dan Cassidy, executive vice president of Cassidy Brothers Inc., a major interior contractor in the Chicagoland area, and a member of the AWCI board of directors, died in an automobile accident on Nov. 27, 2004. He was one week away from celebrating his 34th birthday.
Cassidy is the son of James Mark Cassidy, who was AWCI’s 1993-1994 president and 1998 Pinnacle Award winner.
The accident occurred when Dan and his wife, Zari, were traveling on the Kennedy Expressway. According to local newspapers, Dan swerved after being cut off by a reckless driver. Their SUV hit a curb and rolled over, throwing Dan from the vehicle. Police said he was not wearing a seatbelt; Zari was wearing a seatbelt and survived the rollover with no physical injuries.
In his 12 years as executive vice president of Cassidy Brothers, Inc., Dan completed projects including the Sears Tower, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Peninsula Hotel, Park Hyatt Hotel and the 65-story Park Tower Condominiums.
In addition to being on the AWCI board, Dan served as vice president of the Gypsum Drywall Contractors of Northern Illinois.
AWCI Executive Vice President Steven A. Etkin said that Cassidy will be missed. He added, “Dan was easily a candidate for AWCI president in the future. His colleagues and friends at AWCI are going to miss his friendship and leadership.”
Brent Allen, vice president of sales for South Texas Drywall Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, said, “I looked forward to every AWCI event that Dan and I were both to attend. Be it sharing stories of common customers, industry issues, competition, business philosophies or the good/bad times, we had a unique bond. Not only were Dan and I close in age-definitely of the same generation and fill mutual positions within our companies-our organizations shared similar backgrounds. These events and occasional phone conversations over the years helped me grow both personally and professionally and helped our company do the same. I and our industry are going to significantly miss Dan Cassidy.”
The family has requested that memorial contributions be given to Journeys from PADS to HOPE, 1140 E. Northwest Hwy., Palatine, IL 60074, www.padstohope.org. In addition, the Foundation of the Wall and Ceiling Industry (703.538.1615) is accepting memorial contributions.
