Cara Cassada May

IN LOVING MEMORY OF CARA CASSADA MAY

Cara Cassada May, 71, of Gainesville, FL passed away peacefully, surrounded by family and friends on July 21, 2026. Cara was a force of nature. She loved life, thriving, loving and appreciating every minute of every day. She embodied a great attitude despite battling monumental health challenges for the past 21 years.

Cara was born in Elmira, NY on November 11, 1954 to Barbara and William Cassada. She lived a life full of adventure in New York, California, Colorado, Arkansas, Mississippi, and finally Florida. Cara will be remembered for her warmth, strength, style, quick humor, sense of adventure, and generous heart.

Some of Cara’s favorite adventures of her youth include the sheer joy of spending summers in Indian Lake, NY and the Adirondack Mountains; busing to Toronto Canada in 1965 at age 10 to see the Beatles in concert; riding the Giant Dipper roller coaster and getting a tan at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk; celebrating with the Doobie Brothers in San Jose, the release of their first album; the thrill of living in Greenwich Village in its art and music heyday of the 1970’s; opening Something’s Brewing Coffeeshop in Benton, Arkansas, and the ultimate highlight of her life was her beautiful babies and grandbabies.

There was no keeping Cara down. Diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma [MM] in 2005, a blood cancer of the bone marrow, her first symptom kidney failure, she continued to help gather Unite Here signatures to unionize her Gulfport, MS workplace. Three weeks after her diagnosis she and her youngest son Chris lost everything but their lives in Hurricane Katrina, their Gulfport, MS being the eye of the storm. Even the hospital sheltering Cara and other patients was ultimately forced to evacuate. Roads East their only viable path, Cara and Chris settled in Gainesville, FL. where she lived the rest of her life. Escaping the hurricane with just their lives, they arrived to an apartment filled with donations gathered by their guardian angel, then-stranger Peggy Ward. Peggy remained Cara’s dear friend for life. Cara then received a life-saving stem cell transplant at the University of Florida Shand’s Hospital in Gainesville, FL. She thrived with incurable MM a near record-setting 21 years thanks to their care and her indomitable spirit. She deeply loved and appreciated her DCI dialysis team for their loving care, saving her life three times each week, and adored her oncologist, Dr. Gordan, for giving her equal parts great compassion, kindness, hope and skill.

Cara’s philosophy was to ‘’Live – Laugh – Love’’, as her door hanger read. She helped others in need, always championing the underdog. She railed against cruelty and corruption, particularly in our government. One of her last acts days before her passing was to vote by mail in the Florida primary election – publicizing a new Florida voter suppression law requiring all disabled, elderly, injured, anyone wanting a mail-in ballot to re-apply every election year in effect disenfranchising those unable to. She pleaded with everyone she encountered to get registered and to vote, and asked them to encourage others to do so. Loved ones can honor Cara’s life by helping get out the vote this and every election.

Cara’s legacy of kindness, humor, activism, and the love she gave so freely will continue in the lives of those who loved her. She is survived by her children Kimberly Isham, Albert May and Christopher Cassada; her grandchildren Trey Shaffer and Emmy May; her siblings Judi Major, Judy Cassada, Lenoir Kieve and Todd Cassada, and her mother Barbara Kieve.

Cara’s family and friends are deeply grateful for the kindness and support shown during this time. In lieu of flowers, simple acts of kindness will honor Cara’s spirit, and/or a donation to the organization of your choice. Organizations Cara admired include the International Myeloma Foundation, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. A Celebration of Cara’s Life will be held at a future date.