Tom Cassel, Our Treasurer
Interviewing Tom Cassel was like listening to a memoir of a life filled with seized opportunities and lasting friendships, working hard and “playing” hard!
Tom’s Cassel ancestors were Mennonites who immigrated to America, at the urging of William Penn, to escape religious persecution, and were among the earliest settlers in Germantown and Skippack, PA. His grandfather Cassel was an accomplished organist and was employed at an Episcopal church in Germantown where his father grew up. Tom was born and raised in Syracuse, NY and lived with his parents and sister in a somewhat rural area on the outskirts of the city. His father was a civil engineer with a steel fabrication plant; his mother, a teacher, once taught in a private school in California where Shirley Temple was one of her students. His parents were active in the Episcopal Cathedral in Syracuse where Tom was baptized and confirmed, served as altar boy, acolyte, etc. He liked go carts, tree forts, motorcycles, hot rods (a real “gearhead”) and later became a race car driver.
At the suggestion of his parents, Tom attended the center city high school in Syracuse instead of the local one, and it opened a whole new world of academic and technical studies as well as a more diverse student community. From there he entered his father’s alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, received Bachelors and Masters degrees in Mechanical Engineering and a Ph.D in Energy Management. As a Penn undergrad, he rowed on the Penn crew which won a national team championship. (He sits on Penn’s Rowing Board today.)
During a brief “stint” at Westinghouse’s Gas Turbine Division he learned two things: he did not want to spend the rest of his life as an engineer in a cubicle; and after hearing stories of the Peace Corps from former rowing teammates, he knew that was something he had to do. So, at the age of 23, he enrolled in the Peace Corps and was sent to the very remote kingdom of Lesotho, landlocked by South Africa, during apartheid when Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.
There he spent 3 years installing water supply systems, with UNICEF funding, in remote Lesotho villages. He lived in a hut with no electricity, a coal burning stove and kerosene lamps in a small village outside the capital town and developed friendships with the native village people.
After returning to Penn to complete his Masters and the course work for his Ph.D, he spent 4 years in the Bay Area of San Francisco working for Bechtel’s energy research division and enjoying skiing and year-round golf. He then returned to Penn to complete his doctoral dissertation, funded by the Department of Energy, and began the next phase of his life in 1978 – developing advanced power plants in his startup venture, Reading Energy Company. With the help of trustworthy entrepreneurial co-founders he had met “along the way”, the company grew to 60 employees in 3 states and developed independent energy efficient power plants, winning several environmental awards. Eventually major corporations became interested in buying the independent plants and the final one of the three owned by Tom and his partners was sold in 1999. Tom also completed Harvard Business School’s 3-year executive Owner-President Management Program during the 90’s.
Tom was introduced to Chris by a mutual friend when she worked as a corporate trainer at Wanamaker’s. They were married in 1981 at the Episcopal Cathedral in Syracuse, with Chris’s father, a Lutheran pastor, as co-officiant. They have 3 sons and daughters-in-law and 5 grandchildren and will celebrate 40 years of marriage in May. Chris recently retired from teaching at Rider and is chair of the Worship and Music Ministry at Saint Matthew.
Tom was in his early 50’s when the last Reading Energy power plant was sold and he thought he could retire, play golf and travel the world, but he soon became bored. Coincidentally another opportunity became available when a dean at Penn asked him if he would like to develop a course in “Entrepreneurship for Engineers”. After checking out similar new programs at other universities, he began teaching at Penn in the fall of 1999. Today Tom directs Penn’s popular Engineering Entrepreneurship Program which employs 5 faculty members and enrolls hundreds of students annually.
As a Professor of Practice he teaches three classes: Entrepreneurship I and II and Engineering Economics, with about 150 students (son Tom, also a Penn grad, took all 3 of his classes). He has received several awards for excellence in teaching during the 21 years he has been on the faculty.
When Tom can relax or needs to unwind, he enjoys his grandkids, road bike riding, reading, Penn and Philadelphia sports, Philadelphia Orchestra concerts, carpentry, Chris’s “to do” list, hiking, restaurant dining, their family summer cottage on Lake Ontario, and especially happy hours with friends and family.
Tom and Chris transferred to Saint Matthew Church from Trinity Episcopal Church in Moorestown in 1988 and he has been our treasurer for 20+ years. He likes the job because he is comfortable with figures and feels it is a way he can serve the church. He has an attachment to the people here and has especially enjoyed working relationships with the office staff through the years. A highlight was related to the Garden of Remembrance. It had been a dream of the late Jerry Kean and plans were in place but there was no money for it. Then “out of the blue” came a check from the estate of a friend of former pastor Carl Uehling, providing the necessary funds. It is now a lovely part of our church property.
When the pandemic is over, Tom is glad we will not have to search for a pastor. He looks forward to the time when we can have a sustainable budget and a successful capital campaign for the accessibility projects.
The strong values Tom learned from his parents, his church, his teachers and mentors have guided him throughout his life. He cherishes wonderful friendships and especially those that have continued through the long years: the Penn oarsmen, Peace Corps volunteers, comrades from Lesotho, race car drivers, Reading Energy people and Penn associates. Seizing opportunities has helped him to have immeasurable achievements and all of his work experiences have been extremely satisfying, for which he is thankful.
And we are thankful to you, Tom, for being such a vital part of our community of faith – for your long hours working with our financial records, for your commitment to the church and our people, for your kindness and generosity and for your optimistic outlook and faith in times of uncertainty.
—Rozella Bower