Kenneth Eugene LaCasse

Kenneth Eugene LaCasse, 90, of Salisbury, NC passed away Sunday, January 21, 2024 at Novant Health Glenn A. Kiser Hospice House.

Ken was born October 25, 1933 in Missoula, MT to the late Joseph Alyre LaCasse and Clara Dussault LaCasse. Ken was twelve when his mother died. After her death Ken and his younger brother were sent to boarding school. During the summer Ken worked on the family dairy farm in the valley outside Missoula. Ken liked to saddle a horse and disappear into the woods for the day.

In 1951 Ken graduated from Gonzaga Prep in Spokane. Then he moved on to Gonzaga University where he earned a BA in 1958 and a Masters degree in English in 1961. After teaching English and Humanities several years in Washington state he was hired by the Department of Defense Dependent Schools where he taught on military bases in six different countries. While working in Belgium, Ken met and married Rose Conde from Louisiana.

After retiring in 1993, Ken moved his family to a historic farm in western Rowan County. He enjoyed being back on a farm but each day reserved time to read. Classics, modern fiction, mysteries, history or biographies he loved to read. The theatre was another of his interest, he and Rose usually had season tickets.

For twenty years he slowly and carefully restored the old neglected farmhouse and tended the woods. Volunteering with neighbors Ken worked to preserve the rural areas which he believed would benefit families for years to come.

Ken was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Lucille Gibbons.

Left to cherish his memory is his wife of 52 years, Rose Marie Conde LaCasse; son, Alan M. LaCasse and wife Jen Nash of Ireland; daughter, Helena M. LaCasse of Kannapolis, NC; brother, Robert LaCasse of Southern Pines, NC; grandchildren, Killian, Dominic, Robert, Clara and Joshua LaCasse and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 10-11 AM Thursday (Feb 1) at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11AM at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, officiated by Rev. John Eckert. Burial will be at a later date at the family cemetery in Missoula, MT.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Sacred Heart Catholic School, 385 Lumen Christi Lane, Salisbury, NC 28147.

Summersett Funeral Home is serving the LaCasse family. Online condolences may be made at www.summersettfuneralhome.com.