James Albert Cassle

A memorial service for James A. Cassle will be at 2 PM on March 10, 2012 at Pioneer Drive Baptist Church, 701 S Pioneer Drive, Abilene, TX. Officiating will be Jack Ridlehoover, former Pastor, Stan Allcorn, present Pastor and Jeff Reid, Associate Pastor. Burial will be at Elmwood Memorial Park. James was born to J. A. and Minnie Myrtle Cassle on October 26, 1919 in Rule, Texas. He moved to Abilene with his family in 1935, graduated from Abilene High School and Hardin-Simmons University. He taught at Abilene High prior to entering the Army Air Corps during World War II. From 1942 to his discharge in 1945, he served at various locations, including most of the time in the South Pacific. James married Mickey M. Howell on April 14, 1950. After the war, he and his father, J. A. Cassle, formed a business, Cassle & Cassle, Inc. to build houses for a community recovering from shortages during the war. Eventually, financing for the booming housing business was added to the company, along with an insurance agency. Helping people become home owners was not only a business, but a service opportunity. Having his son, James H. Cassle (J), join this work in 1976 was instrumental in the continuance of Cassle & Cassle for over 55 years - with the last forty years being located at 401 N Willis St. James participated in community affairs through the years. He served on the Abilene Planning and Zoning Commission in the fifties. He was active at Hardin-Simmons University in the Alumni Association, Academic Foundation, Board of Development, and was awarded the John J. Keeter Alumni Award in 1973. He was a member of the Board of Trustees at Hendrick Medical Center, then Hendrick Memorial Hospital, in the sixties. He also served on the Executive Board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and was a longtime member of Kiwanis Club of Abilene. As members of First Baptist Church, Mickey volunteered in 1954 to help start a new mission church, Pioneer Drive Baptist. What was considered to be a temporary assignment became a long-term commitment. Being a member of Pioneer Drive from its inception to his final days, he had opportunities to serve as deacon and in various other capacities. James is survived by his wife, Mickey H. Cassle, their children, James H. Cassle (J) and wife, Susie, Abilene; Molli A. Elliston and husband, Gary, Dallas. Grandchildren are B.J. Cassle and wife, Misty with their children, James and Claire, Abilene; Clark J. Elliston and wife, Abbey with their children, Caleb and Olivia, Dallas; Tyler C. Elliston and wife, Ann, Oakland, CA; and Rachel M. Elliston, Dallas. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sisters, Juanita Bone and Doris Smith. He is survived by special nieces with their families, all who carry on the tradition of the annual family reunion started in the early 1950's. Memorials may be made to the James A. and Mickey Cassle Endowed Scholarship at Hardin-Simmons University, Box 16100, Abilene, TX 79698 or to Pioneer Drive Baptist Church.