Obituary of Elizabeth M. Cassidy

Peabody, August 1, 2004. Elizabeth M. Betty (Mac Neil) Cassidy, 76, of Peabody died Sunday at the New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Danvers. She was the wife of the late Philip M. Cassidy Sr. and the mother of the late Philip M. Cassidy Jr. She was born in Beverly MA on August 23, 1927, the daughter of the late Elton and Dorothy M. (Cressy) Mac Neil and had resided all her life in Peabody. She was a graduate of Peabody High School and Vesper George Art School of Boston. She had been employed as a commercial artist in Boston prior to her marriage. Betty began her deep interest in preserving Peabody’ s history in the mid 1970s by being a driving force in saving Brooksby Farm from development. She then became a member of the Peabody Historical Society and later chairperson of the Nathaniel Felton Jr. House and the preservation of the houses became very important to her. As a member of the Society, she especially enjoyed giving tours of the houses to school children and teaching them about living in the 17th century. In 1996, she helped organize the first Brooksby Days program for the City of Peabody. She was a recipient of the Eleanor Forthingham Smith Lifetime Award for dedication to preserving local history. She later was a founder of the Peabody Historical Graveyard Coalition to preserve the many historic graveyards in Peabody. She is survived by 2 brothers and a sister-in-law, John E. MacNeil of Avon Park, FL and Raymond L. and Louise M. MacNeil of Danvers, a sister-in-law, Eileen Clark of Peabody and a brother-in-law, Charles Cassidy of Newburyport and several nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews. Her funeral will be held on Thursday at 10:00 AM from the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home at the 12 Chestnut St., Peabody facility followed by a Funeral Mass in St. John’ s Church, Peabody at 11:00 AM. Burial in Puritan Lawn Memorial Park, Peabody. Visiting hours on Wednesday from 2-4 and 6- 8 PM. Relatives and friends are kindly invited. Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Peabody Historical Society, 35 Washington St., Peabody Ma. 01960 in her memory.