by Former NRA Executive Vice President and CEO J. Warren Cassidy passed away on Wednesday, June 12th at the age of 93. In addition to serving as the EVP from 1986 to 1991, Cassidy headed the NRA-ILA starting in 1982 after Neal Knox was fired by Harlon Carter. Cassidy was Wayne LaPierre’s immediate predecessor as EVP.
Cassidy served as president of the Goal Owners Action League, was elected to the NRA Board of Directors in 1978, and served one term as mayor of Lynn, Massachusetts. He served for 22 years in the US Marine Corps Reserve retiring in 1975 as a Lt. Colonel.
According to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from 1991, Cassidy was forced to resign as EVP by the Board of Directors due to mis-management issues related to a new computer system, a drop in NRA membership, and a sexual harassment lawsuit settlement. Another article stated that Cassidy, when he became EVP, wanted to change the NRA’s image to put more emphasis on training and hunter safety as opposed to fierce advocacy for the Second Amendment. From my outsider’s perspective of events almost 40 years ago, it appears that is was a classic battle between the “Fudds” and hardline 2A advocates.
From his obituary:
After retirement, he moved to East Wakefield, NH and later, Mirror Lake, NH where Joan and he enjoyed family visits, golf, home projects, and giving treats to neighborhood dogs.
Cassidy is survived by his wife, Joan Cassidy (Purtell), and five children: Joseph Cassidy III and his wife Anne; Julia Rose (Cassidy) and her husband Ray; Phil Cassidy and his wife Tina; Susan Van Tongeren (Cassidy) and her husband Philip; and Beth Grew (Cassidy) and her husband Steven. He is also survived by his sister Carol Welch (Cassidy); his grandchildren: Michael, Diana, Bart, Cara, and Cassie; and, his great-grandchildren: Aiyla, Shayn, and Alina. Warren was pre-deceased by grandson, Christopher van Tongeren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be sent to the Tuftonboro (NH) Free Public Library. Cassidy will be interred at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Lynn with military honors.
A Funeral Mass will be 11:00 AM Saturday June 22 at St Katharine Drexel Church in Alton, NH.
