Obituary of Graham S. Cassano

Graham Sylvester Cassano passed on December 29, 2021, at FF Thompson Hospital after a mercifully brief struggle with metastatic lung cancer, his family at his bedside. The son of Vincent and Aralda, Graham grew up in a working-class Italian family in Rochester, NY, the third of five brothers. He received his bachelor’s degree from University of Rochester and went on to work for the Xerox Corporation for four decades, where he rose to the rank of Director of Customs and Tariff Administration. Graham’s career took him around the world, including five years working for Xerox in Mexico. Upon returning to the States, he lived in Westport, CT, Honeoye Falls, NY, and finally, after retirement, Canandaigua, NY. In 2019, at the age of 80, Graham began a master’s degree in Sustainability from Harvard University. He was nearly finished with the program when he received his cancer diagnosis in October 2021. He is survived by four sons, Graham, Marc, Christopher, and Timothy; three daughters in-law; four grandchildren; one brother (Jonathan); and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. In addition to his family, Graham loved cars, motorcycles, and his airplane. He was also a committed conservationist who adored animals, especially his dachshunds, Max and Hannah. Even as illness made each step an effort, he continued to feed seagulls from his window and befriend the wild foxes who wandered across his lawn. All creatures seemed to respond to his compassion and empathy. He will be missed by the many whose lives he touched.