In his professional life, Dave Cassell was an insurance expert; in his private life, he was a connoisseur of clever sayings and an all-around helpful guy.
But Mr. Cassell wasn’t a chatty man, his daughter Karen Henry of Johns Creek said.
“He was a man of relatively few words,” she said. “He was a very serious man.”
David Lloyd Cassell of Stone Mountain died Dec. 18 at Atlas Hospice from complications of Pick’s disease. He was 77. A funeral is planned for 11 a.m. Wednesday in Decatur at A.S.Turner Funeral Home, which is also in charge of arrangements.
Mr. Cassell grew up in a military family and lived all over the world, his daughter said. He spent three years in Austria, where he began his high school years. He returned to the U.S. for the last two years of high school, after which he joined the Army.
Mr. Cassell spent his entire professional career in the insurance industry, said Barbara Wehunt Cassell, his wife of 47 years.
“He was a whiz at it, especially aviation insurance,” she said. “He did a lot of traveling, especially out of the country, for his job.”
Mr. Cassell’s career began with the Royal Globe Insurance Co., specializing in aviation insurance. He later joined Johnson & Higgins, becoming an account executive and handling insurance for Delta Air Lines, his family said. Among his other large accounts were Fuqua Industries, Coca-Cola Co. and Southern Co. He retired from Johnson & Higgins as a senior vice president, not long before the firm was acquired by Marsh & McLennan.
In his retirement years, Mr. Cassell spent a lot of time with his family, his daughter said.
“He was taking the time to really get to know his grandkids,” Mrs. Henry said. “He was really around a lot more.”
Patsy Barczewski, his wife’s sister, remembers Mr. Cassell as a reliable brother-in-law.
“I remember a time when my husband was away and the upstairs john had flooded all of downstairs, and I’d called Dave because I didn’t know where the valve was to turn the water off,” she said. “Not only did he turn the water off, but he insisted on mopping up downstairs, too. He was just that kind of guy.”
Mrs. Henry said her father’s job kept him on the move, but he always found ways to let her know she was loved. In return, she wrote a letter to her father after his death, and plans to share it with family and friends at the funeral.
“I still remember when you would get angry with me and send me to my room, but then feel so bad about it you’d be peeking under my door to make sure I was OK,” she wrote. “I remember your calling me ‘care package’ for most of my life. ... As we say goodbye to you today, I just want to thank you for being in our lives and loving us unconditionally as we have loved you.”
Mr. Cassell is also survived by another daughter, Jacqueline Rose of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.; brothers William Cassell of Pleasanton, Calif., and Jerry Cassell of Massachusetts, and eight grandchildren.
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