William J. Casey, age 90, of Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts, died peacefully at the Merrimack Valley Hospice House in Haverhill Wednesday morning, November 13, 2013. Bill was predeceased by his beloved wife of 63 years, Rita P. (Fleming) Casey. Bill was born April 13, 1923 and raised in Lawrence. The son of the late Cornelius and Catherine (Reid) Casey, he was a 1941 graduate of Central Catholic High School. Bill served in the US Army Air Corps during World War II as a radar instructor for crews on the B-29 Superfortress, attaining the rank of Master Sergeant. Following his military service, he began his career as a union plumber, working steadily until his retirement in 1984, when he stepped up his impressive golf game as a member of the Portsmouth Country Club. Bill's Irish gift of gab, consummate storytelling and singing delighted all who knew him, and throughout his life he was surrounded by family and friends, enjoying laughter and song. Though a showman by nature, family is what truly centered Bill, and through his example, his children and grandchildren have been firmly guided in the importance of "holding family dear." Bill is survived by his brother, Joseph Casey and his wife Mary of Lawrence, daughter, Eileen Woelfel and her husband Brian of Haverhill, son, William J. Casey, Jr. and his wife Rita of San Felipe, Mexico, daughter Patricia Thompson and her husband Donald of Bradford, son James Casey and his wife Ellen of Lynn, grandchildren Matthew Woelfel, Katie (Woelfel) Hicks, Casey Thompson, Erin (Thompson) Bertrand, Jonathan Casey and Lauren Casey, great grandchildren Hadley, Will and Henry Vareschi-Woelfel, Samantha and Michael Hicks, and Nora June Bertrand, as well as many nieces and nephews. He was the brother of the late Helen Halloran, Nora Barry, Mary Shine, Richard Casey, Cornelius Casey, Kathleen Smeltzer and Francis Casey.
ARRANGEMENTS: Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend his funeral mass on Wednesday, November 20, 2013, at 11 AM in St. Patrick Church, Lawrence. Calling hours will be held on Tuesday from 4-8 PM at John Breen Memorial Funeral Home, 35 Merrimack Street, North Andover, MA 01845. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Sacred Hearts Parish, 48 South Chestnut Street, Bradford, MA 01835 or The Arc of Greater Haverhill-Newburyport, 57 Wingate Street, Suite 301, Haverhill, MA 01832.