Fred Cassidy

[Thomas Paikeday]

Very sad indeed. Here are a few memories from a non-academic:

I first met Fred in 1967 with my wife who had just arrived from India. We
were on an extended honeymoon and had started going on business and
professional trips together. DARE was in its teens, I think. So were
computers, with Dick Venezky at the helm of the DARE project. I had several
meetings with Fred and his colleagues, including one in his office when he
suggested I buy a copy of his Dictionary of Jamaican English instead of
referring to it. Later we had lunch together.

Fred was one of three academics I approached for blurbs when my NYT Everyday
Dictionary was published in 1982. I could always count on him as a friend
and helper. Whenever I gave a paper (ADS, MLA, DSNA, etc.) he could be
expected to be there. He contributed an unpublished "Song of the Native
Speaker" (which he had presented to the Linguistic Circle of Madison in
1962) to that 1985 book of mine. He was one of only four in an audience that
attended a paper I gave the ANS in 1988. I felt honoured. I may not be
giving any more papers, but I will miss him.

I wanted to celebrate the 30th anniversary of our 1967 meeting (at least
nominally) at the DSNA meeting held in Madison, but couldn't make it because
of problems. Before this becomes a resume of my own career, let me say
Requiescat in pace, Fred Cassidy.
===============================================

Joan Houston Hall wrote:

> I am deeply sorry to have to tell you that your friend and colleague,
> Frederic G. Cassidy, Chief Editor of the Dictionary of American Regional
> English, died this morning.  It is hard to imagine DARE without him.
>
> Joan H. Hall, Associate Editor
> Dictionary of American Regional English
> 6125 Helen C. White Hall
> 600 N. Park St., Madison, WI 53706
> <jdhall at facstaff.wisc.edu>
> http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/dare/dare.html