Pauline Cassel

Pauline Cassel joined her beloved family in Heaven on August 2, 2017, a few weeks away from her 104th birthday. She spent her final 15 years in Baton Rouge moving there to be near her niece.Born on August 17, 1913, to Thomas Abington Cassel and Mary Ethel Boyd Cassel, Pauline grew up in rural Sabine Parish near Converse. The eldest of four children, at age six she lost her father to influenza. She helped care for her siblings while her mother taught school. She graduated from Converse High School and attended Northwestern State University and Louisiana State University. She graduated from LSU with a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters degree in elementary education. Devoted to her family, she helped support her brothers’ and sister’s educational endeavors. Pauline was a member of Zwolle First United Methodist Church. She was also a member of Phi Mu social sorority and Delta Kappa Gamma Society.After teaching in Sulphur, she was recruited to teach second grade and student teachers at A.E. Phillips Elementary, the lab school at Louisiana Tech University. Pauline taught second grade for nearly 40 years, the majority of it at A.E. Phillips. After retiring, she returned to Sabine Parish to care for her mother in Noble prior to moving to Baton Rouge.She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers and their wives, Thomas H. Cassel, Sr., and Ella Mae Beasley Cassel of Harrisonburg, and Jennings P. Cassel and Irma Dee Boatner Cassel, of Sabine Parish and Baton Rouge; sister, Laurine Cassel Parry and husband, Sheffield B. Parry, of Lake Charles; beloved nephews, Thomas H. Cassel, II, and John S. Parry; beloved niece, Dianne Cassel Fontenot; great niece Katherine Fontenot Kay; and great nephew Thomas H. Cassel, III.She is survived by her niece, Susan Parry Leake, and husband, F. Barrow Leake, of Baton Rouge; nephew-in-law, Ernie Fontenot of The Woodlands, Texas; nieces-in-law, Rita C. Cassel of Sarasota, Florida, and Mary “Chris” Parry of St. Augustine, Florida; great nephews, Jason S. Parry, Mark Dale Cassel, and Chris Cassel; great nieces Gennifer Fontenot Kelly and Lesley Fontenot Lancaster; nine great-great nieces and nephews; and cousins, Smith Tatum and wife Helen, Wynnie Ford, and Bobbye Camp.Many thanks to her exceptional caregivers, Carol Ann Smith, Dorothy Stewart, Quinette Green, Josie Lee, and Diane Dotson, and to two that preceded her in death, Jackie Green and Ms. Jossie White. Thanks to The Hospice of Baton Rouge who made her final days peaceful and to Dr. R. Todd Cooley and his nurses who deserve much credit for her longevity.Services were held August 11 at Zwolle First United Methodist Church and were followed by burial at Cassel Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to the church at P.O. Box 216, Zwolle, LA 71486, to The Hospice of Baton Rouge at 3600 Florida Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70806, or to the charity of your choice.