Obituary of John Cassity

John Chewning Cassity, 97, passed away Friday, December 17, 2010, in Durham, North Carolina. Born March 3, 1913 on a farm near Gentry, Missouri, he was the only son of Steven and Bernice Schaumloeffel Cassity. He grew up in Gentry and nearby Albany, Missouri, where he completed high school. He attended the University of Oklahoma where in 1935 he received a BS in mechanical engineering, with a focus on aeronautics. During college he began training in field artillery and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Army Reserves before graduation. During WWII he served active duty from 1941-1946 with the 2nd and 4th Infantry Divisions primarily as a field artillery training officer and unit commander. Following the war, he continued in a reserve role, retiring from Army service as a Lieutenant Colonel. In 1938 he married Odessa Crunk from Paintrock, Texas from whom he was widowed in 1957. In 1958 he remarried to Elenor Mitchell Bryant of Tulsa from whom he was widowed in 2006. For most of his life he called Tulsa his home. His early career was in Texas and Oklahoma iwth Sinclair Oil and Gas Company in their Gas Products Division where he did field testing and later designed pipeline systems. He subsequently worked as a production design engineer for Douglas Aircraft in Tulsa and was involved in modification programs for military aircraft. He completed his working life with the U.S. Treasury as an IRS tax valuation engineer of oil and gas properties. He also attained a commercial pilots license with a flight instructor's rating and was a licensed real estate broker in Oklahoma. Following retirement in 1975, Mr. Cassity and his wife pursued their common interest in travel and mineralogy. They crisscrossed the Southwest and Rockies with their travel trailer and friends collecting minerals and attending rock shows ( of the non-musical variety). they were members of the Tulsa Rock and Mineral Society, where he served as President and Show Chair. In his late retirement, Mr. Cassity moved in 1990 to Durham, North Carolina where he was a member of Mount Sylvan United Methodist Church an the Sylvan Seniors. He will be be remembered and cherished by family and friends for his salt-of-the earth nature, his willingness to help on practical matters and his vast experience and understanding of all things mechanical. He is survived by his daughter, Diana Bryant Jackson and her husband Robert of Durham, two grandchildren, Kyle Bryant Jackson of Raleigh and Genesa Jackson Trogdon and husband Leonard of Summerfield, NC two great granddaughters, Paige Eleanor and Allison Elizabeth Trogodon. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to a charity one's choice. Graveside service will be held at Floral Haven Memorial Gardens on Friday, January 7, 2011.