Daniel Cassella This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Orlando Sentinel: Obituaries

   www.orlandosentinal.com/news/o - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/24/2001   Last Visited: 3/30/2001

   Daniel Cassella , 70 , was linked to golf all his life Orlando Sentinel : Obituaries
   
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   Daniel Cassella , 70 , was linked to golf all his life.
   
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   Daniel Cassella picked up his first golf club early. He was just a kid when his golf-pro dad introduced him to the game that would consume the early part of his life.
   
   Cassella of Altamonte Springs , a Professional Golfers Association member and former country club golf pro , died Thursday of heart disease. He was 70.
   
   Daniel Cassella and his father , Peter Cassella , operated the pro shop and gave golf lessons at the Brookville Country Club in Glen Cove , Long Island , in New York in the 1960s and 1970s.
   
   Daniel Cassella was just 37 years old when he suffered his first heart attack in 1968. He suffered three attacks in one day , said his wife , Donna.
   
   He recovered and returned to the pro shop , but his prized golf career was short-lived. Just six years later , Daniel Cassella's heart condition worsened , forcing him to quit golfing , his wife said.
   
   The couple moved in 1973 to the Orlando area , and he opened Dan's Pro Shop in Fern Park. Three years later , open-heart surgery prompted him to close the shop. More heart surgery followed , and he never worked again.
   
   From then on , Daniel Cassella became an armchair duffer , watching his favorite tournaments on TV and reading golf magazines , his wife said. He died wearing his PGA ring , said his son , Peter Cassella of Lake Mary , named for his grandfather.
   
   I never got into golf until I was in my 30s , the son said. My dad went out with me to watch me play , and he could hit the ball better with one hand than I could with two..
   
   Daniel Cassella was a member of the Church of the Annunciation and the Sons of Italy.
   
   He also is survived by son , Carl Poedtkeof Naperville , Ill. ; daughter , Maria Poedtke of Naperville ; brothers , Michael Butterfield of Isle of Palms , S.C. , and Pat Butterfield of Virginia , and one grandchild.
   
   Baldwin-Fairchild Funeral Home in Altamonte Springs is handling arrangements.