Sean Cashman

Published 8:44 pm Friday, January 24, 2014

July 27, 1955 – January 13, 2014

Sean William Cashman, age 58, passed away January 13, 2014. Born and raised in Bend, Oregon, Sean was the middle of five children, all boys. He was involved in a variety of activities which included being an Eagle Scout, an altar boy, participating in high school football and track, and was a free throw shooting champion.

After Sean graduated from Bend High, he decided to serve our country and joined the U.S. Navy. During his service he and his shipmates were involved in the evacuation of U.S. forces at the end of the Vietnam War.

After Sean’s return from the military service, he continued his education and attended Lane Community College. While at Lane, Sean tried out for the basketball team, despite never having played in high school. Not only did Sean make the team, he became a starter.

He continued his education at ITT, working as many as three jobs while going to school. During this time Sean met the love of his life, Ladell. They have been married nearly 30 years and have two amazing children, Brian and Shanna.

After Sean got his degree from ITT, he worked in the Seattle area doing tech work for a micro dish company. Later, he made a career change and took a position with Oregon DMV as a driving counselor. During this time, Sean also became involved with developing a program that provided enhanced instruction to driver education programs for high school students throughout the state. This is where Sean came to realize that he had a gift for working with kids.

In the late ‘90s, during his expansion of the driving counselor program, Sean moved to Bend. Eventually, Sean decided to embark on other endeavors. In 2010, he landed a position with the Bend – La Pine School District as a Building Engineer at Ensworth Elementary School. He was known by the students and staff as “Mr. Sean”. Not only was he a building engineer but an inspiration and mentor to the children.

Four years ago, Sean overcame a life threatening illness that hospitalized him for over 3 months. Despite the prognosis, Sean overcame the odds. This second chance at life gave him strength and renewed his faith and love of life.

Ten years ago, he began officiating basketball and football games. For Sean, refereeing was more than a hobby, but a passion and he worked hard to become one of the top officials. Last year, he was honored by his peers, and awarded the Jason Freboth award for his inspiration and for overcoming the insurmountable odds that he had faced just years before.

Sean had a contagious sense humor that brought joy and laughter to everyone he met.

We’ll miss you Mr. Sean.

A Celebration of Life will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, January 18, 2014 at Christian Life Center, 21720 E. Hwy 20, in Bend. Niswonger-Reynolds is honored to serve the family. Please visit the online registry at www.niswonger-reynolds.com; 541-382-2471.