Victor A. Casebolt

Casebolt, Victor A.
Victor A. Casebolt, 79, of Paradise Valley, Arizona, passed away on February 11, 2014 in the company of family and friends. He was born January 2, 1935 in Spokane, Washington, to Victor S. Casebolt and Elizabeth Sheffels Casebolt. As a youth he earned his Eagle Scout badge and enjoyed working on the Sheffels family farm in Great Falls, Montana, harvesting the wheat crop. He was elected Governor at Idaho Boys' State in 1951. In high school he played football and basketball and graduated at the top of his class at Moscow, Idaho, in 1952. He enrolled at Stanford University where he earned a degree in economics. He married his high school sweetheart, Jo Elaine Beeson, in 1956 and they moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where he earned an MBA at Harvard Business School and she taught school. After graduation in 1958 he served briefly in the U.S. Army and then began a distinguished business career with General Electric's then fledgling computer division. His GE career took him and his family to Phoenix, Michigan, London, Paris and then back to Phoenix. He remained close to his GE colleagues for the rest of his life. After GE sold its computer division in 1970, he worked for Honeywell in Tampa, then back to GE for several years in Massachusetts. He left GE to become President of Storage Tek in Boulder, Colorado, in 1976, which was then a Fortune 500 company. In the "second half" of his career he switched to the paper industry and served as a Senior Vice President of International Paper in New York until he retired in 1996. His career took him on trips all over the globe, including Canada, Europe, China, Russia, Japan and South America. In retirement he and Jo visited Alaska, Africa, Antarctica, Egypt, Turkey, Southeast Asia, Tibet and India. They also made truly memorable family trips to Maui and Italy. He loved his summers and water skiing at Coeur D'Alene Lake, Idaho. In 2008 he received an honorary doctorate from Heidelberg University. He served on the Board of Directors of Mountain States Legal Foundation. Vic played tennis regularly and loved to snow ski with his family. Philanthropist, Poet, musician and capitalist with a heart, he definitely was one of the good guys. He was an enthusiastic member of the Phoenix-Camelback Rotary Club and regularly attended St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. Papa Vic took the roles of husband, father and grandfather to new heights. Vic is survived by his wife of 57 years, Jo, their children Vic (Amy), Mark (Christine and family), Bryan (Martha) and Elizabeth (Troy); grandsons Victor, David and James, granddaughters Claire and Amelia; his sisters Judith Lee and Carolyn Westendorf (David); nephews and nieces. Services will be held at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 6715 N. Mockingbird Lane, Paradise Valley, AZ on Saturday, March 8, 2014 at 3 pm with reception to follow at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Banner Alzheimer's Foundation, 2025 N. 3rd Street, Suite 250, Phoenix, AZ 85004. Arrangements entrusted to Messinger Indian School Mortuary.