Mr. Marie Cummings Casey This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. Northeast News Gleaner Online Edition - June 2000 - Former Gov. Casey remembered always 'Fighting for life'

   www.newsgleaner.com/archives/2 - [Cached]

   Published on: 10/26/2000   Last Visited: 10/26/2000

   In 1967, Mr. Casey was elected as one of three delegates representing Lackawanna County to the Pennsylvania Constitutional Con-vention. As the convention's First Vice President, he played a leading role in the writing of the constitution that governs Pennsylvania today.
   
   He won two successive terms as Auditor General of Pennsylvania from 1969 to 1977. As auditor general, he exposed waste and corruption at all levels of government and professionalized the office, hiring certified public accountants for the first time in its history.
   
   After three unsuccessful campaigns for the governorship of Pennsylvania, Mr. Casey joined the Philadelphia law firm of Dilworth, Paxson, Kalish and Kauffman in 1978, where he was a senior partner and headed the firm's Scranton office. After practicing law for seven years, and facing the longest of odds, he ran for governor again in 1986 and won. Twenty years after his first campaign for the office, Mr. Casey was sworn in as Pennsylvania's 42nd governor on January 20, 1987.
   
   He was reelected in 1990 by 1.1 million votes, the largest gubernatorial landslide in Pennsylvania history.
   
   ...
   After leaving the governor's office, Mr. Casey formed an exploratory committee to consider entering the Democratic presidential primaries in 1996. Health problems forced him to discontinue the exploratory committee in April 1995.
   
   In June 1995, he founded the Campaign for the American Family and the Fund for the American Family, two nonprofit organizations dedicated to changes in the law to benefit families.
   
   His autobiography, Fighting for Life, was published in 1996. The book received the Christopher Award in 1997 for affirming the highest values of the human spirit..
   
   Mr. Casey became of counsel to the Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, law firm of Elliott, Reihner, Siedzikowski and Egan in 1997.
   
   He is survived by his wife Ellen and their eight children : Margaret McGrath, Dunmore ; Mary Ellen Pilbin, Robert, and Patrick, Scran-ton ; Christopher, Waverly ; Kate Brier and Erin Walsh, Clarks Green ; Matthew, Philadelphia ; 28 grandchildren ; a brother, John M. Casey, Athens, Georgia ; and three nieces.
   
   A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Saturday, June 3 at 11 : 00 a.m. in St. Peter's CAthedral, 300 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton. Interment was at St. Catherine's Cemetery, Moscow, Pennsylvania.
   
   Memorial contributions may be sent to one of the following :.

2. 2. Northeast News Gleaner Online Edition - June 2000 - Former Gov. Casey remembered always 'Fighting for life'

   www.newsgleaner.com/archives/2 - [Cached]

   Published on: 6/1/2000   Last Visited: 8/11/2001

   In 1967 , Mr. Casey was elected as one of three delegates representing Lackawanna County to the Pennsylvania Constitutional Con-vention. As the convention's First Vice President , he played a leading role in the writing of the constitution that governs Pennsylvania today.
   
   He won two successive terms as Auditor General of Pennsylvania from 1969 to 1977. As auditor general , he exposed waste and corruption at all levels of government and professionalized the office , hiring certified public accountants for the first time in its history.
   
   After three unsuccessful campaigns for the governorship of Pennsylvania , Mr. Casey joined the Philadelphia law firm of Dilworth , Paxson , Kalish and Kauffman in 1978 , where he was a senior partner and headed the firm's Scranton office. After practicing law for seven years , and facing the longest of odds , he ran for governor again in 1986 and won. Twenty years after his first campaign for the office , Mr. Casey was sworn in as Pennsylvania's 42nd governor on January 20 , 1987.
   
   He was reelected in 1990 by 1.1 million votes , the largest gubernatorial landslide in Pennsylvania history.
   
   Governor Casey's top priority as governor was revitalizing economically distressed communities across Pennsylvania. His economic development initiatives led to the creation of over a quarter million new jobs , and he left office with a nearly a half billion dollar budget surplus.
   
   His leadership led to such landmarks as the new Pittsburgh International Airport , the Sony plant , and the Mon-Fayette Expressway in Western pennsylvania ; and , in the Philadelphia region , the Blue Route , the Avenue of the Arts , and the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
   
   In his home area of Northeastern Pennsylvania , his efforts led to construction of the Scranton-to-Carbondale highway that now bears his name ; the Steamtown Mall in Scranton ; the Lackawanna County Stadium ; and the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza in Luzerne County.
   
   He signed into law the Children's Health Insurance Program which provides free or low-cost health care to families that cannot afford health insurance but do not qualify for Medical Assistance.
   
   For older Pennsylvanians he helped make prescription drugs affordable and created the Family Caregiver Program to support those who care for an elderly relative at.
   
   His automobile insurance reforms saved drivers millions of dollars in low premiums.
   
   While he was governor , Pennsylvania had the largest recycling and clean water programs in the United sTates. His administration cleaned up toxic waste dumps and levied record fines against polluters. His farmland preservation program helped protect millions of acres from development.
   
   Governor Casey made providing equal opportunity to women and minorities a top priority of his administration. As governor , he appointed more women to his cabinet than any other Democratic governor in the nation. Governor Casey appointed more than half of all African-American cabinet officers in Pennsylvania's history , including the first state police commissioner and first commissioner of corrections. He also appointed the first African-American female state supreme court justice in the nation.
   
   Governor Casey championed the rights of the unborn and signed the nation's strongest anti-abortion law , which included protections such as parental consent and a 24-hour waiting period that were upheld by the United States Supreme Court in its most recent significant abortion ruling , the 1992 decision in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Penn-sylvania v. Casey.
   
   He was a strong advocate for adoption , committing the first-ever state funds for an adoption network dedicated to finding homes for hard-to-place children , and convening the first adoption conference in state history.
   
   In 1991 , Governor Casey was diagnosed with familial amyloidosis. He received a double-organ transplant in 1993.
   
   In 1995 , he served as president of Transplant Recipients International Organization , a group consisting of organ donor families , transplantation candidates , and organ recipients that is dedicated to increasing organ donations.
   
   After leaving the governor's office , Mr. Casey formed an exploratory committee to consider entering the Democratic presidential primaries in 1996. Health problems forced him to discontinue the exploratory committee in April 1995.
   
   In June 1995 , he founded the Campaign for the American Family and the Fund for the American Family , two nonprofit organizations dedicated to changes in the law to benefit families.
   
   His autobiography , Fighting for Life , was published in 1996. The book received the Christopher Award in 1997 for affirming the highest values of the human spirit..
   
   Mr. Casey became of counsel to the Blue Bell , Pennsylvania , law firm of Elliott , Reihner , Siedzikowski and Egan in 1997.
   
   He is survived by his wife Ellen and their eight children : Margaret McGrath , Dunmore ; Mary Ellen Pilbin , Robert , and Patrick , Scran-ton ; Christopher , Waverly ; Kate Brier and Erin Walsh , Clarks Green ; Matthew , Philadelphia ; 28 grandchildren ; a brother , John M. Casey , Athens , Georgia ; and three nieces.
   
   A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on Saturday , June 3 at 11 : 00 a.m. in St. Peter's CAthedral , 300 Wyoming Avenue , Scranton. Interment was at St. Catherine's Cemetery , Moscow , Pennsylvania.
   
   Memorial contributions may be sent to one of the following :.