May 30, 2000
 Robert
P. Casey, former governor of Pennsylvania, died May 30 at
Mercy Hospital in Scranton at the age of 68.
Mr. Casey began his public career in 1962 as a state senator; five years later
he served as a delegate to Pennsylvania’s Constitutional Convention. Elected
state auditor general in 1968, he served two four-year terms and then returned
to private practice, joining the Philadelphia, Pa., law firm of Dilworth, Paxson,
Kalish & Kauffman.
Mr. Casey won his first successful bid for governor of Pennsylvania in 1986;
re-elected in 1990, he defeated his opponent by more than a million votes, carrying
66 out of 67 counties.
During his tenure, Mr. Casey supported many environmental, economic and educational
initiatives. In 1988, he established Pennvest, a 25-year, $2.5 billion program
to provide municipalities with low-interest loans for improving the water and
sewer infrastructures. To encourage the growth of industry and foster employment
opportunities in the state, he founded the Economic Development Partnership.
While in office, Mr. Casey increased funding for basic education and the state’s
school breakfast program; he also created the Healthy Beginnings program and
the Children’s Health Insurance Plan to ensure medical services for expectant
mothers and children. Concerned with trash management, he signed into law a mandatory
recycling bill which required the recycling of paper, metal and plastic; his
Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act served as a national model for the nonfederal cleanup
of waste sites.
An advocate for the unborn, Mr. Casey signed the Pennsylvania Abortion Control
Act; requirements of the bill, including parental consent and a 24-hour waiting
period, were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1992 decision, Planned Parenthood
of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. Because of his pro-life views, he was
denied the opportunity to address the 1992 Democratic National Convention.
Diagnosed in 1991 with a rare hereditary disease, familial amyloidosis, he underwent
a heart-liver transplant midway through his second term as governor. Toward the
end of his career, he became a public advocate for organ donations, serving as
president of the Transplant Recipients International Organization in 1995.
Mr. Casey considered challenging Bill Clinton for the 1996 presidential nomination
but health reasons deterred him. During this time, he founded two nonprofit organizations,
The Campaign for the American Family and the Fund for the American Family, dedicated
to making changes in the law to benefit families.
In April 1996, Mr. Casey published his autobiography, Fighting for Life, and,
the following year, joined the law firm of Elliott, Reihner, Siedzikowski & Egan
in Blue Bell, Pa.
A 1956 graduate of the George Washington University School of Law, he began his
law practice in Washington D.C., with the firm of Covington & Burling; in
1959, he joined the Scranton firm of Nogi, O’Malley & Harris and, in
1965, became a partner of Casey, Haggerty & McDonnell, also in Scranton.
Mr. Casey was awarded an honorary doctor of public service degree from Holy Cross
in 1988. As a student, he had played varsity basketball and served as senior
class president.
He is survived by his wife, Ellen; four sons, including Robert P. Jr. ’82,
Christopher H. ’83 and Patrick R. ’89; four daughters, including
Erin Casey Walsh ’84; 28 grandchildren; a brother; and three nieces.
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