Jeremy “Tucker” Raymond Cassidy

Tucker Cassidy was born on August 9, 1975. He was the first grandchild in the family of Bud and Norma Rottinghaus, of Charles City, Iowa. When he went to kindergarten, he was the smallest child in his class, but no one really noticed, because his personality made up for it.

That personality only grew as did his physical stature. He learned to read early, and never stopped pursuing the answers to questions about our natural world and the human beings with whom he shared it. As a 2nd grader he wrote a research paper on arachnids for fun. His thirst for sharing information never diminished. On summer evenings, at his grandparents’ dinner table, he would present the contents of his pockets for their admiration. Every item had a story behind it.

Storytelling and playing pranks came second nature to him. When he was 17, he attended his first Lollapalooza in Des Moines. It was his first “road trip”, and when he made the perfunctory call to his mother to assure her of his safe arrival, the first words out of his mouth were, “I have to make this short. They are only allowing one phone call.”

Tucker was an active scholar, athlete, and musician. He participated in wrestling, band, choir, speech and drama at Center Point-Urbana High School. He attended Kirkwood the fall semester following his graduation in 1993. He intended to be a high school counselor. This was waylaid when the summer after his freshman year on July 28, 1994, Tucker was struck in the neck with a bullet from an unsecured .22 caliber handgun. He spent the next two months in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids. He was transferred to Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colorado on Labor Day of that year.

Two months after completing the Rehabilitation program at Craig Hospital, he returned to Center Point, and re-enrolled in college to resume his studies. He transferred to the University of Iowa where he lived in the dorms and drove his RAs to distraction. This resulted in a move off-campus while he continued his work on a BA in Psychology, graduating in 1999. While in Iowa City, he was active with the Everett Connor Independent Living Center and the Johnson County Crisis Center. He signed on with the United Action for Youth program, where he mentored young people.

In order to continue to live independently, he returned to Waterloo, where in-home health care services were more available. All his adult life, Tucker strove to be an advocate for those in the disability community. He was a courageous genius when it came to finding and accessing resources to make independent living a reality. He is greatly respected and admired by many.

Tucker’s interests included going to concerts, listening to music, watching films, good scotch, fine art, and Midcentury-Modern architecture. He was an avid collector of obscure media, namely VHS tapes filled with B-movies in the sci-fi, horror, and action genres. Many of these movies captured the thrill he experienced as the first skateboarder in Center Point, IA when we moved there in 1989.

All in all, Tucker was a charismatic, civic-minded individual who could always identify the strengths and the humanity in the individuals he met. This overarching interest in how we can best protect the interests of the vulnerable was an outgrowth of his interest and study in Public Policy. Tucker served his community by contributing his input to the City Council regarding accessibility. He tried to raise awareness of the need for curb cuts and sidewalks to accommodate mobility around town by those in the handicapped community. On July 1, 2024, he was appointed to the Iowa Independent Living Council. Tucker’s life will never be over if we see to it that his legacy lives on.

He is preceded in death by his grandparents Norma and Bud Rottinghaus, his beloved uncle David Rowen, and his devoted feline friend Bob. He is survived by his mother, Mickey Rottinghaus and his siblings: Kit Cassidy, and Anthony (Madison) Cassidy, Kimberly Cassidy, Kari Cassidy- (Kyle) Diercks, Nate Johnson, his nieces and nephews: Raven Lee Schaefer; Cadence, Camden, and Kellen Cassidy Diercks; and Camille Maeve Cassidy. He is also survived by an abundance of “Bud’s Bunch” – aunts, uncles, and dozens of Rottinghaus cousins.