Grace Pettit Casey

Grace “Irene” Pettit Casey, 87, of Pauline, SC passed away on Friday, May 31, 2024. She was born in Spartanburg on May 24, 1937, a daughter of the late Allen Wakefield Pettit and Grace Morrow Marquis. Irene was the widow of Marion Lanham Casey, Jr.

Irene was a high school graduate of Roebuck High School. She graduated college with a bachelors in education from Winthrop College. She studied visual impairment and braille at the Peabody College at Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN. She taught at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind in the School for the Blind for over 40 years, and volunteered after retirement for another 12 years as a braille tutor. At SCSDB, she taught elementary school children with visual impairments, led the choral group of students, “School Daze,” to events around the state, and fundraised for the school. Irene received the SCSDB Teacher of the Year award, the National Federation for the Blind Educator of the Year award, and the Douglas F. Dent Award during her time as an educator.

As a long-time member of Philadelphia Baptist Church, Irene served as choir director for over 40 years. She was a faithful member of the PBC Women’s Sunday School Class, and served for many years as a teacher for Vacation Bible School.

Irene will be missed by many, including her daughters, Mary Elizabeth Lister (Chad) of Moore, SC and Marion Anne Weeks (Dusty) of Pauline, SC; sons, Christopher Dixon Casey of Charlotte, NC and Brian O’Neal Casey of Pauline, SC; grandchildren, Rhegan O’Neal Weeks (Tori), Jack Emerson Debolt, Dylan Spencer Casey, and Colton Shane Weeks; sister, Mary Charlene Yarborough; sister-in-law, Brenda Crenshaw (Ken); and brother-in-law, Donald Bolton. She is predeceased by her sister Gayle Bolton, and a brother-in-law, Milton Yarborough.

In the last years of her life, Irene was lovingly cared for by her caregivers; Jackie Tinsley, Janice Neely, Charlene Lowrance, Zora Aiken, Josephine Brown, and hospice nurse Donna Jolly.

Visitation will be 1:00-2:45pm on Tuesday, June 4, 2024 at Philadelphia Baptist Church, 3119 Highway 56, Pauline, SC 29374. Funeral services will follow at 3:00pm, conducted by Rev. Kiah Graves and Rev. Monty King. Interment will be in the Philadelphia Baptist Church Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind Foundation in support of the SC School for the Blind at https://www.scsdbfoundation.org/donate.