Lloyd Aloysius Casey

Lloyd Aloysius Casey, beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather passed away peacefully among family members on October 1, 2024 in Avon, IN. He was 97 years old. "Casey" as he was known to friends, was born on December 18, 1926 in Anaheim, CA and grew up in southern California and Nevada where his father worked for the Union Pacific Railroad. He attended high school in Las Vegas until joining the US Navy in 1943 at the age of 17 (he lied about his age to enlist). Casey served in the Pacific as a radio operator on the destroyer, USS Sigsbee. After the war he attended college at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. It was on a blind date that he met his future wife, Mary Grace Wells from Baltimore, MD, where they were married in 1949. From then on known as Gracie and Casey, they moved to southern California in 1953, living in Inglewood briefly before moving to San Mateo in northern California. Casey worked a variety of jobs: salesman for Shilling Spice Co. and later, Independent Life Insurance Company. In 1962 he returned to college and earned a Master's degree in Theology from the University of San Francisco. Starting a new career with the Catholic Church as an adult educator, the family moved to Yakima, WA where he worked for St. Joseph's Church. In 1968 the family moved to Denver, CO where he worked at Holy Family parish. After a number of years, he returned to sales to help afford college for seven children, working for several firms - Globe Ticket Company, the Denver Symphony, the Denver Spurs hockey team - until ending his career with StorageTek in Louisville, CO. Casey always had an interest in politics and ran for a State Senate seat, losing in his first bid, but winning in 1992. He served a single term in the senate, becoming known as "Senator Grape Nuts" for his preference for a breakfast cereal. He attributed his mental acuity to the vibrations caused by the chewing of Grape Nuts. These vibrations promote brain health by limiting the build-up of plaque (according to Casey). One of his legislative achievements was sponsoring a bill to make growing industrial hemp legal again in Colorado after several decades of being illegal. The bill was initially killed in the legislature, but was later approved by Colorado voters. Casey returned to the state capitol in 2013 where he was recognized by Gov. John Hickenlooper for pioneering industrial hemp legalization in Colorado. Upon retirement, he and Gracie moved to Columbus, OH to be closer to family. Together they enjoyed amateur theater and performed in several productions including Arsenic and Old Lace, Harvey, and others. Although Casey and Gracie's children lived far apart, they gathered at regular intervals for family reunions. Some of the reunion venues included San Diego, Lake Tahoe, Glenwood Springs, Rhode Island, Columbus and others. After the death of Gracie in 2022, Casey moved to Indianapolis, IN., again to be near family. He is survived by seven children: Mark Casey (Kathy) from Spokane, WA; Kevin Casey (Jeannette) from Auburn, CA; John Casey (Barb) from Greeley, CO; Paul Casey (Nancy) from Indianapolis; Colleen Wahlen (John) from Pewaukee, WI; Chris Casey (Lisa) from Denver, CO; and Kate Casey (Rosario) from Puerto Montt, Chile. In addition, he has 12 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren. A funeral service will take place at St. Brigid of Kildare, in Dublin, OH on October 18, 10:30am. In lieu of flowers, Casey would be most honored to have people exercise their right and privilege to vote in the upcoming election.