Gail Cassidy, Longtime Westfield Resident
Gail Cassidy
October 28, 1940 – June 2, 2026
Westfield, New Jersey
Gail Cassidy, of Westfield, New Jersey, died peacefully on Tuesday June 2, 2026, surrounded her family.
Born on October 28, 1940, Gail was raised in Pennsylvania and earned her degree in education from East Stroudsburg University, followed by a master’s degree from Northeastern University in Boston. She met her husband, Tom Cassidy, while they were both working at IBM, where she designed a global self-paced training program that earned her an Outstanding Contribution Award.
Gail and Tom moved to Westfield in 1972, where they raised their family and became deeply rooted in the community. Gail taught English and writing, including at Roselle Catholic High School, where generations of students remembered her as a favorite teacher, mentor, and encourager. Many credited her with helping them find their voice, believe in their writing, and feel valued at a time when they needed it most.
Gail devoted herself to Westfield civic life through decades of service. She served as president of many organizations including the Westfield Parent- Teacher Council, Westfield Recycling Division/Project Share, Westfield Board of Education,American Heart Association, Westfield Rotary Club, Rotary Foundation, and Westfield Foundation. She also served as executive director of the localAmerican Red Cross chapter and was a founding board member and secretary of Imagine, A Center for Coping with Loss. In recognition of her many contributions, Gail was inducted into the Westfield Hall of Fame in 2019.
Gail was a teacher, writer, speaker, volunteer, mentor, and encourager. She wrote motivational books and workbooks, including Discover Your Passion, and spent much of her life helping teens, adults, seniors, writers, students, and friends recognize their own gifts. Long before “influencer” became a common word, Gail influenced countless lives through kindness, encouragement, wisdom, and belief in others.
Friends, neighbors, students, and colleagues remembered Gail as warm, generous, joyful, articulate, thoughtful, and full of light. She was often described as a pillar of the Westfield community and as someone who made people feel seen, safe, accepted, and important. She had a beautiful smile, a warm voice, and a rare ability to make a short conversation feel meaningful. Gail loved books, writing, storytelling, animals, mysteries, Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, Hallmark movies, Bagel Chateau and Westfield Diner conversations, holiday traditions, handwritten notes, and any story with a hopeful ending. She made her children’s friends feel like family, and many remembered her as a second mother.
Her family will remember her Christmas brunches, her stories, her encouragement, her positivity, her humor, her notes, her love of books, and her gift for making ordinary moments feel special. Her grandchildren will remember her storytelling, recordings, toys, movie nights, and the warmth of Grandma’s house.
Gail is survived by her beloved husband, Tom Cassidy, of Westfield, New Jersey; her daughter, Lynne Cassidy, of New Castle, Colorado; her son, Tom Cassidy, and daughter-inlaw, Elizabeth Irvin, of Charlottesville, Virginia; and her grandsons, Patrick, 18, and Jason, 13, also of Charlottesville.
In keeping with Gail’s wishes, there will be no viewing. A funeral service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at Holy Trinity Church, 315 1st Street, Westfield, NJ 07090. Gail asked that people gather, remember her, and then “go out and have a blast.”
In Gail’s memory, the family invites others to encourage a student, support a writer, write a thank you note, be kind to an animal, buy a book you like, or tell someone what makes them special.
