Obituary
Robert “Bob” Armand Cassata, born on November 20, 1942, passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 8, 2026. Everyone who met Bob immediately became his friend. He was beloved by so many. He would shower his family and friends with kindness, laughs, and good food.
Bob grew up in Chicago and spent his summers at Pell Lake as a boy, a place that stayed with him his whole life. Some of his happiest memories came from those summers, playing with his family, as he loved to tell it. He’d talk about those times for days on end, right down to taking the city bus to school, always with a smile like it was yesterday.
Bob worked for the Chicago Sun-Times, putting in his time on the docks. He also ran his own lawn care company, Lawn-A-Mat, which came with a nice side benefit: he had the best lawn on the block, and everybody knew it. As a result of all that time working for the newspaper, Bob ended up with hearing aids, which he would sometimes choose not to use, leading to many entertaining phone conversations. He would always joke about what he could and couldn’t hear, always with a twinkle in his eyes and in his voice.
Family was everything to Bob. Bob was completely devoted to his children and especially his grandchildren. He was their biggest cheerleader and supporter, at sporting events, academic events, dance performances, band concerts, and Special Olympic events. He enjoyed his trips to the lake and the resulting adventures that would ensue, many captured brilliantly on film and video for lasting memories, and his many vacations with Tim and Amy and the girls. Ben and Sam brought him such joy and kept him young. They enjoyed mini golfing together and competing to see who could get a hole in one first, which Bob clearly did. Bob would enjoy his visits with the boys and spending time playing various sports in the yard and competitive games of Uno. He made many trips to Virginia to see Daniel and Bridget in various sporting and other endeavors. His visits always brought them such joy, especially how he befriended everyone he met along the way. He was a generous birthday and Christmas gift giver to all the grandchildren, charming many sales clerks as he picked out his thoughtful gifts. Grandpa Bob always ensured that his grandchildren knew how much he loved them. He ended each visit or call with “Grandpa loves ya.”
Bob loved to cook, and his homemade Italian dishes were the ones everyone asked him to bring to family gatherings. His stuffed shells, his meatballs, and his pasta sauce made from his own garden tomatoes were the ones people counted on, and no function felt complete without them. Much of it started in that garden, which he tended with the same care he gave everyone in his life. He took pride in what he grew, and it had a way of ending up on the table, feeding the people he loved.
Bob was an avid reader, so it is only fitting that his final activity was reading his book. He was a devoted library patron, so much so that on multiple occasions he checked out the same book more than once, something he discovered when he found one of his old makeshift bookmarks.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Salvatore and Alice Cassata; and his brother-in-law David Smith and sister-in-law Judy Cassata.
He is survived by his loving family, including his five sons: Steve (Jennifer), Pete (Sara), R-J, Tim (Amy), and Joe (Charmaine); his seven grandchildren: Bridget, Daniel, Camille, Emmalyn, Delaney, Samuel, and Benjamin; his sister Rosemary Smith; his brother Richard “Dick” Cassata; and his nieces Allison, Amy, Susan, and Jessica.
In keeping with Bob’s wishes, a celebration of life will be held at a later date, to be determined. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Crete Public Library. And if you donate a book, tuck a bookmark inside with a note on it, so a stranger can find it someday and smile. It’s the kind of thing Bob would have loved.
Donations can be made at: https://cretelibrary.org/donating-to-the-crete-public-library/
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