Janice A. Cassidy age 66 of San Benito, Texas passed away January 17th, 2017 at Solara Hospital in Harlingen, Texas surrounded by her loving family and friends. From her birth on December 10, 1950 until her death, she nourished everyone in her life with love and warmth. The second of seven children, born to parents Vincent E. Cassidy and Mildred L. Cassidy, she was born in Philadelphia, PA. She graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School in Glenside, PA in 1968. Following high school, she went to work for a prominent Philadelphia attorney firm, Yaskin and Winicov where she started as a legal secretary and worked her way up to Legal Assistant. She gave the firm 23 years of yeoman service before finally leaving to set out on her own independent journey. She graduated from Rutgers Law School in 1989 and became a licensed U.S. attorney in the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Texas by the end of 1990. She then joined the Koppel Law Firm in Harlingen. She passed all three bar exams on her first attempt. Jan met her husband Joel P. Smith in 1985, married on November 17, 1990, and was married to him for 27 years. She moved to San Benito during that time in 1990, where she has been a respected community member of the Valley since. Over the years, Jan served two terms as San Benito City Attorney. Jan served as president of the local Rotary Club for one year where she led the Adoption Awareness Program for over five years placing countless children in good homes around the Valley. She was also appointed guardian for hundreds of displaced Guatemalan children finding them families and facilities to welcome and care for them. Each Christmas, Jan and her fellow attorneys bought and distributed Christmas presents for disadvantaged youth in the valley. She performed much pro bono work for people in need. In 1987, she became a naturalized citizen of Ireland. Her husband soon followed as a citizen, due to her status. A beautiful, warm, and gracious person, Jan was taken away from us far too soon. She is survived by her loving husband, Joel P. Smith and step son Derek T. Smith. She is further survived by her loving mother, Mildred Cassidy; sisters: Donna M. Cassidy, Christine C. DeBellis, Carol L. Oswald; and a brother, Paul P. Cassidy. Jan was preceded in death by her father, Vincent; her sister, Andrea; and her brother, Mark. Jan was a loving wife, daughter, and sister. She was an honorable person and friend to so many others. Jan touched the life of almost everyone she met in a profoundly positive way and made friends everywhere she went. She was a devout Catholic who attended mass regularly and practiced her Catholic values every day of her life. And she never missed a single Phillies baseball game either. She was full of integrity, honesty, respect, and kindness and she will be sorely and forever missed. A public memorial service for friends and colleagues will be held at Thomae-Garza Funeral Home on Thursday, January 19, 2017 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Funeral service will be held at 9 a.m. on Friday, January 20, 2017 at Our Lady Queen of Universe Catholic Church, 121 Garrison Drive. A further public memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday, January 22, 2017 at Temple Beth Israel, 1702 East Jackson Ave in Harlingen, Texas. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the San Benito Rotary Club’s Adoption Awareness Program. You may sign the online guestbook and send words of comfort or sympathy cards to the family of Janice A. Cassidy at: www.thomaegarza.com. Funeral arrangements entrusted to the care of Thomae-Garza Funeral Directors and Crematorium, 395 S. Sam Houston, San Benito, Texas, (956) 399-1331.