Visitation Will Be Held Sunday for Peter J. Cassidy

Photo: Peter J. Cassidy, Solimine Funeral Homes

Peter J. Cassidy died Wednesday after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 79.

Cassidy was a well-known figure in Swampscott and served for 30 years with the Swampscott Police Department, rising through the ranks from patrolman to lieutenant to captain and at last to chief, a position he held from 1980 until his retirement in 1988. Later in life, he made his home in Marblehead.

His son, current Swampscott Police Sgt. Tim Cassidy, told the Daily Item of Lynn that his father “absolutely loved the town of Swampscott,”

“He loved serving it, loved being the chief of police,” Cassidy said. “Even when he was getting real bad with Alzheimer’s, he would say, ‘I’m the chief!’”

The late Cassidy lived most of his life in Swampscott, according to an obituary fromSolimine Funeral Homes, and was a fixture on the town’s athletic scene as well as its civic offices.

Cassidy quarterbacked the Swampscott High School football team and played ice hockey, basketball and baseball as well. He also spent many season coaching his children in Youth Hockey, Little League, Babe Ruth, and Pop Warner.

When he wasn’t on an athletic field, he was busy serving as a leader in Swampscott. He served on the Board of Selectmen and also as an elected Town Meeting Member, Town Constable and Tax Collector.

In his spare time he enjoyed skiing and golfing at the Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead, the town he called home later in life.

Cassidy is survived by his wife of 16 years Pamela (Don) Cassidy as well as his eight children, 21 grandchildren, several great-children and numerous other family and friends. He was preceded in death by his late wife Judith A. (Reid) Cassidy.

Visitation will be held Sunday, June 7 from 4-8 p.m. at Solimine Funeral Home in Lynn. His funeral will be Monday, June 8 at 10 a.m. at St. John the Evangelist Church, Swampscott.

For the full obituary, see the Solimine Funeral Homes site.