Michael Joseph Casey
Michael Joseph Casey, of Falmouth, Maine passed away surrounded by love, at his home February 18, 2017, after a long and courageous battle with prostate cancer.
Born March 8, 1934, in Brawley, CA, to Charles Cecil and Mary Margaret (Coker) Casey, he was the youngest of three children. Sister, Mary Margaret (Bunny) Desert, of El Centro,CA and his late brother, James Patrick (Pat) Casey, of Brawley,CA.
Proud of his Irish heritage and relishing the role of patriarch, Mike was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. We will greatly miss his wonderful smile, sharp wit and intellect, his dry sense of humor, his sage advice, his unending stories (which only got better, and perhaps slightly embellished, over time), his love and support. He was the rock that we all leaned on. His passing leaves a huge void in our lives, his large extended family and his many close friends.
Michael liked to say he spent his entire “idyllic” childhood in the farming community of Imperial Valley, Brawley, CA. He was one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in the State of California, and was offered full scholarships to USC, UCLA, and The University of California at Berkeley. He chose Cal . His collegiate football career was hampered by knee injuries. He played for the legendary coach Pappy Waldorf, 1953-1955, and over the years remained deeply involved with the “Pappy’s Boys” members.
After two years with the U.S. Army, Michael joined Dean Witter. He became a founder of the venture capital investment group, Berkeley Science. Michael and Annette Trudeau married in 1959. They had four children: Michelle, Kevin, Dennis, and Corinne (Cori). They settled and raised their family in Hillsborough,CA
The Casey family owned the historic Bernard Ehlers Winery & Vineyard , 19682000. During 1981 Michael moved to St. Helena where he spent several decades on Ehlers Lane as a grape grower and real estate broker. In 1984, he met and married “New Englander” Lucia (Lucy) Callahan, and they had a child, Charles Michael, 1994. Retiring from the wine and real estate business in 2000, they relocated to Falmouth,ME where he would reside for the remainder of his life.
He is survived by his wife Lucia (Lucy); his sister Mary (Bunny) Desert; many nieces and nephews and the greatest joys of his life, his children: Michelle Wyman and husband Will, Kevin and wife Jocelyn, Dennis and wife Morgan, Cori Lusk and husband Paul, and son Charles; grandchildren: Caitlin Malone, Casey Wyman, Molly Wyman; Alanna Stropki, Colleen Casey; Jack, Katrina, Nathan, Nicholas and Nolan Casey; and Jack and Erin Lusk; great-grandchild, Scarlett Malone; and former wife and mother of the four eldest children, Annette Legallet.
Words cannot adequately express our loss, but we all have wonderful memories and funny stories to carry us through. In the immortal words of Michael J Casey... GO BEARS!!
A Celebration of Life service was held March 2nd, at Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home, Portland, ME. An additional memorial will be held in St. Helena, California May 13, 2017 visit Legacy.com