Biography

01/09/1932 - 05/30/2000

Governor Robert Patrick Casey, Sr. (D22) Lackawanna County 1963-1966

Early Life:

Governor Robert Patrick Casey, Sr., born January 9, 1932, Jackson Heights, borough of Queens, New York City, New York; son of Alphonsus Liguori and Marie Cummings Casey; moved Pennsylvania’s anthracite region Scranton; Scranton Preparatory School, 1949; basketball athletic scholarship, president, senior class, cum laude, College of Holy Cross, Worcester Massachusetts, (A.B.), English, 1953; married, Ellen Harding Casey, children, Margaret, Mary Ellen, Kathleen, Robert Jr., Christopher, Erin, Patrick, Matthew; relocated, Washington, District of Columbia; trustee scholarship, George Washington University Law School, District of Columbia, (J.D.), 1956; law practice, Covington and Burling, Washington, District of Columbia; returned, Scranton, law practice, 1958; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1963-1966; unsuccessful primary campaign, governor, 1966; first vice president, Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention, 1968; elected, Democrat, 45th Auditor General of Pennsylvania, 1969 -1977; unsuccessful primary campaign, governor, 1970; declined, nomination, office of Pennsylvania Treasurer, 1976; unsuccessful primary campaign, governor, 1978; elected, Democrat, 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania, 1987-1995; died, May 30, 2000 (aged 68)  from the long-term effects of Appalachian Familiar Amyloidosis, inherited condition characterized by the deposition of insoluble proteins in organs and tissues; Mercy Hospital, Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania; interment, Saint Catherine's Cemetery, Moscow, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania.

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Member, Lackawanna County Court, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; Courts of District of Columbia; Federal Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania. 

Early Career:

Elected president, senior class, head of student council, baseball, basketball, Scranton Preparatory School, 1949. Tryout, Philadelphia Phillies, relinquished the offer to attend College of Holy Cross.

Authored: 

“Counter Claims Against the United States” George Washington Law Review, January 1957.

Casey, Robert P. (1996). Fighting for Life: The Story of a Courageous Pro-Life Democrat Whose Own Brush with Death Made Medical History. Word Publishing. ISBN 0-8499-1224-5

Pennsylvania Politics: 

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 22nd district, Lackawanna County, 1963-1966; committee assignments, Corporations, Labor and Industry, Mines and Mineral Industries, Public Health and Welfare, State Government. 

Unsuccessful primary campaign, governor; lost to television cable mogul Milton J. Shapp who, in turn, lost the general election that year to outgoing Governor William W. Scranton’s lieutenant governor Raymond P. Shafer, 1966. 

First vice president, Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention, 1968.

Elected, Democrat, 45th Auditor General of Pennsylvania, 1969 -1977. 

Unsuccessful primary campaign, governor; lost, Milton J. Shapp who became governor, 1970.

Declined, nomination, office of Pennsylvania Treasurer, 1976.

Unsuccessful primary campaign, governor, lost, Peter Francis Flaherty who, in turn, lost the general election, 1978.

Elected, Democrat, 42nd Governor of Pennsylvania, 1987-1995; defeated, Republican candidate William Scranton, III, (his father was the former Governor of Pennsylvania). Ironically, Scranton's family is named for the town in which Casey was raised. Making healthcare affordable for children with the CHIP Program (Children's Health Insurance Program); authorized, Abortion Control Act of 1989, because of hardline stance, was excluded from addressing delegates, Democratic National Convention, 1992.

Mistaken Identity

Cambria County recorder of deeds named Robert E. Casey won the Democratic primary and the general election, spending virtually no money and doing virtually no campaigning; voters merely assumed they were voting for the outgoing Auditor General. 

Another candidate named Robert P. Casey, this one a teacher and ice cream parlor owner from Monroeville, Pennsylvania, received the Democratic party's nomination for lieutenant governor, again with a no-spending, no-campaigning strategy, who joined Democratic gubernatorial nominee Pete Flaherty, narrowly lost to Richard Thornburgh and William Scranton III.

There was also a Robert J. Casey who sought a congressional seat in Western Pennsylvania and a Dennis Casey who ran for Pennsylvania State Senate.

Legacy:

Underwent, extremely rare heart-liver transplant, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, June 14, 1993; before undergoing the operation, transferred executive authority, Lieutenant Governor Mark Singel, marking the first time Pennsylvania was under the leadership of an acting governor; resumed his duties six months to the day after he underwent the operation, December 13, 1993.

Son, Bob Casey Jr., also served as Auditor General of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Treasurer, United States Senator, Pennsylvania, 2007-.

Cited:

Cox, Harold "Senate Members "C". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

The Pennsylvania Manual (1963-1964). Stine, C. (Editor). Crouse, J. (Assistant Editor). (Volume 96). The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pages 91 and 94. Biographical Sketches of Senators, page 77.

Robert Patrick “Bob” Casey Sr. (1932-2000) - Find a Grave Memorial