Dennis M. Cadigan

OBITUARY FOR DENNIS MICHAEL CADIGAN (1942-2025)

Dennis Michael Cadigan, age 82, passed away peacefully surrounded by Joanne Dolphin, his partner of 26 years and her family, his brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren. He was born in 1942 to James and Ann Louise Cadigan, both of whom predeceased him. After graduating from John Carroll High School in Washington, D.C., Dennis served four years in the U.S. Army Reserve. In 1960 he joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in a clerical position at the FBI Headquarters. While going to night school, he obtained a college degree, applied and was accepted as a Special Agent in 1970. During all this time he met and married Donna O’Conner in 1965.

Dennis served with distinction in the FBI in the Miami, Philadelphia and Richmond Divisions. He retired in 1994 after 34 years of service in the Bureau. He and Donna then moved to Ellicott City, Maryland, where they lived until Donna passed away in 1997.

Dennis then met Joanne Dolphin and after a time, they became engaged and moved to Columbia, Maryland. They were together for 26 years, traveling first class to many exotic places all over the world.

If there is one word to describe Dennis, it would be charismatic. Dennis made everyone he spoke with feel special and always made them the center of his attention. He also loved large family gatherings, dishing out his “world famous” barbecue and pizza sauces, together with sage advice and plenty of jokes. He thoroughly enjoyed playing with his grandchildren and spending as much time as he could with them.

Along with his wife Donna, Dennis is predeceased by his daughters, Lisa and Deana, as well as his sister Marianne Patterson.

Dennis is survived by his partner Joanne Dolphin, and his two sons, Daniel and John. He is also survived by his six siblings; Susan, James (Kathleen), Anne (Jackson), David (Florence), Paula (Jeff) and John (Janna), as well as his son-in-law Jim Dolphin (Renate) and his daughters-in-law Shannon Gill (Bill) and Colleen Morris.

His grandchildren whom he loved so dearly are Finn, Evaline, Dennis, and Ellie Cadigan; Jimmy, Kyle and Ryan Dolphin; Carter Gill and Kellen Morris.

Visitation will be from 10:00am to 11:00am on Saturday, January 25, 2025, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11:00am at St. Lawrence the Martyr Catholic Church, 7850 Parkside Blvd, Hanover, Maryland. Luncheon to follow in the St. Lawrence Reception Center. The burial will follow promptly at 2:00 PM at St. John’s Cemetery of Howard County, 3480 St. John’s Lane, Ellicott City, Maryland.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Smile Train (www.SmileTrain.org) or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (www.michaeljfox.org).