There is, if we are lucky, sometimes one certain person who sparks a thoughtful conversation, creates laughter, or brings a certain lightness to a corner of the room.   Cassie was that one certain person.  We, who knew her and loved her, were the lucky ones.  Her light and laughter left us, except in our life-long memories, on Saturday, September 14, 2024.

Although Cassie grew up in Hudsonville, Michigan, and obtained her BA and Masters from the University of Michigan, she loved Maine, where, with her husband, Matt, she started a family with her adored children, Max and Asa, in South Portland.  Because of her endless curiosity and empathy, she became a much-sought-after therapist specializing in women's issues.  She loved walks in Robinson Woods, or strolling Willard beach with her family and golden retriever, Shermie.  She spent considerable time at O'Donal's Nursery trying to find just the right plant to flourish in the shade she had created around their home and then bemoaning there was not enough sun!  Her kitchen shelves teeter with cookbooks and the smell of apple pie still lingers there.  Her love of travel took her family to Istanbul and France, but her true love was Italy - Rome especially kept drawing them back where pictures of Max and Asa visiting every gelato shop and posing at the Coliseum in different years fill her scrapbooks.

But her greatest passion was for her family - from never missing a single soccer or baseball game (no matter how cold) or musical performance, to making special waffles on school mornings or exploring the complexities of the world with challenging conversation starters that made all of us think so much more deeply and empathetically.  Holidays were her specialty - pies galore, and the more presents the better - and joy - lots of joy.

Her zest for life and positivity flows through her loving husband Matt Davis and her children, Max Linden Davis, a talented musician now attending Connecticut College and Asa Quinn Davis, a high school junior, who loves animals, the outdoors and wildlife photography, as well as through her brother, Todd Kelly Slisher of South Lyon, Michigan, and her parents, Max and Kate Slisher of Falmouth Maine, - all who will be forever grateful for the gift of her life.

The loss of her infectious spirit leaves an unbearably huge hole in the heart of all who love her, but her undeniable beam of light will sustain us all.

A celebration of Cassie's life will be held Nov 2 in the McKernan Center at Southern Maine Community College beginning at 1:00.

Any contributions can be made to the American Cancer society.