1953-2019
SCARBOROUGH - Toni (Corriveau) Cassidy, 66, of Buxton, passed away peacefully at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House on August 7, 2019. She was born in Van Buren, Maine, on February 4, 1953, to her loving parents, the late Leo J. Corriveau and the late Beatrice Desjardins Corriveau.
The path of Toni’s life was forever changed by the accident in which she lost her right leg at the age of ten. It happened during a heavy windstorm on a bright sunny day in late November of 1963, in the week following JFK’s assassination. Toni remembered floating above the pine trees over the scene of the accident, hearing people yelling and seeing them moving the tree that had fallen on her. As she watched, she had to decide whether to stay or to go and she said “I was ten years old; I was too young to leave so I stayed.” Her family, friends and students will be forever grateful that she made that decision. To save her life and with special permission from Strategic Air Command in Nebraska, she was flown with her father from Loring Air Force Base on a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker to Boston where she spent months in recovery at Mass General. She laughed recently telling the story of how she and another child would try and hide in the closet when they knew the tutor was coming, which was not exactly an easy thing to do since she was in a wheelchair.
Toni graduated from Van Buren High School, attended the Maine School of Art in Portland and the University of Maine at Farmington, including a semester at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. She graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Art. She began her teaching career as a substitute teacher in Portland before spending one year teaching kindergarten at Reiche School. The following year she moved to Hall School where she taught kindergarten for 37 years until March of this year. It is estimated that over 760 Portland children had the privilege of having her as a teacher. She created the Art Club at Hall School where she instilled the love of art to an additional 200 students from kindergarten through 5th grade. This club allowed her to remain in touch with her students as they got older. She was a dedicated and loving teacher who enjoyed getting hugs from her students and was well respected by her colleagues. She was renowned at school for her whimsical gingerbread men ornaments, her delicious homemade popcorn and her incredible collection of books. She loved the teachers and staff at Hall School (now Amanda C. Rowe School) and cherished their friendships.
Toni was incredibly independent, strong and determined and never considered herself handicapped. She even studied karate in the late 1970s and early 80s, attaining the level of brown belt, and learned how to use her crutches for self defense. In the mid-1980s, she spent her summers as the Chief Purser for Longfellow Cruise Line on Long Wharf in Portland. On occasion, a rude tourist would blurt out “What happened to your leg?” and she would quip, “A shark got me!” before finally telling them she had been in an accident as a child.
Two of the happiest days of Toni’s life were when her son, Ryan, was born in 1989, and when her grandson, Mason, was born in 2017. She loved them unconditionally and was so very proud of both of them. Her eyes always sparkled when they came to visit her in the hospital and at the hospice house. In the summers of Ryan’s childhood, they made wonderful memories at Acres of Wildlife in Standish where Toni and Ryan raced around in her golf cart.
In her final days, Toni never lost her sense of humor and she even insisted on having her toenails and fingernails painted purple. She also browsed Amazon with Ryan and told him what gifts she wanted him to buy Mason for future holidays and birthdays. She received more visitors at Gosnell than they could count and was surrounded by family and friends who reminded her how much she was loved. She enriched the lives of everyone who met her with her compassion, generosity, thoughtfulness, humor and wisdom and she will be greatly missed.
Toni is survived by her son, Ryan Cassidy of Buxton, grandson, Mason, and Ryan’s father, George Cassidy of Freeport. She is also survived by her stepmother, Maxima André Corriveau of Saco and her five siblings, Kerry (Corriveau) Sullivan and her husband, Gary, of Raymond; David Corriveau and his wife, Elaine, of Windham; Mark Corriveau and his wife, Pauline, of Buxton; Michelle (Corriveau) Powell and her husband, Glenn, of Scarborough; and Scot Corriveau of Land O’Lakes, Florida. She is also survived by her nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews: Toni Sullivan Bailey, her husband, Steve, and their children Zach and Denali; Benjamin Corriveau, his wife Jessica and their children Beau and Josie; Adam Corriveau, Laura Powell, and Jack Corriveau. She is also survived by a handful of aunts and uncles, numerous cousins and by her two best friends, Sandy Sherry and Linda Leavis-Colson.
Toni’s family would like to extend a special thank you to the exceptional doctors and nurses of both Mercy Hospital and Maine Medical Center and to the wonderful and caring staff of the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Toni’s memory to:
Pine Tree Society www.pinetreesociety.org
149 Front St.
Bath, ME 04530
or
Gosnell Memorial Hospice House
11 Hunnewell Rd.
Scarborough, ME 04074
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