Stephen Hale Cassada, 71, died Monday, Jan. 9, 2017, at University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.  Visitation will be Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, in West Hall at Waller Funeral Home beginning at 9 a.m. with a memorial service following at 11 a.m. in the Chapel of Waller Funeral Home.

Steve was born in May of 1945, to the late Charles and Mary Alice Cassada in San Diego, California.  He received his B.S. degree in 1969 from West Texas State University where he was President of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity.

Steve’s outstanding career in law enforcement spanned 47 years beginning in 1967 as a patrolman with the Tulia Police Department in Tulia, Texas.  In 1971 he accepted a position as Special Agent with the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs (BNDD) which went on to become the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He was transferred to Washington, D.C. in 1973, where he was one of twenty people who created the International Training Division of the DEA.  Steve traveled to over 65 countries training foreign officers in enforcing drug laws and regulations.

By 1986, Steve was the Resident Agent in Charge in Reno, Nevada, where he supervised special agents and state and local law enforcement personnel. He also served as an Assistant Country Attache for the US Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan in 1989. After serving in many other capacities with the DEA, Steve was eventually transferred to Oxford, in 1996, as the Resident Agent in Charge of Northern Mississippi with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

During his prestigious career Steve has distinguished himself by receiving numerous awards for his outstanding accomplishments in the field of narcotic law enforcement.

He is survived by his wife Melissa A. Cassada of Oxford; daughters, Stefanie Brandt and her husband, Jason of Elmhurst, Illinois, Jennifer Allen and her husband, Dave of Columbus, Mississippi and Ashley Rankin and her husband, Randy of Oxford; son, Matthew Cassada and his wife, Karen of Oxford; brothers, Charles Cassada of Sun City, Arizona and Howard Cassada of Jackson, Tennessee and 12 grandchildren.

Memorial contributions in Mr. Cassada’s memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1800 West Main Street, Tupelo, MS 38801 or the Oxford-Lafayette Humane Society, 413 McElroy Drive, Oxford, MS 38655.

For additional information or to sign an online guestbook, visit www.wallerfuneralhome.com or call 662-234-7971.