Winifred "Winnie" Emily (Manning) Casey, age 91, of Medford passed away on Tuesday, August 25th. Raised and educated in Dedham, she was the daughter of the late Patrick and Winifred (Bolton) Manning.
As a girl in Dedham, Freddie grew up on the banks of the Charles, swimming and canoeing all summer, skating like the wind in winter, the black ice cracking behind her. A player piano tucked into a corner of the living room played songs as long as someone was willing to pump it. She loved English class and perhaps dreamed of the stage. Practical matters meant business classes and a job right after high school, but the poetry she memorized as a child was a continuing source of delight until the end.
A summer vacation with girl friends at Old Orchard Beach put her there when Bill arrived on a whim. She laughed when he asked her what time it was when she obviously wasn’t wearing a watch. He said he didn’t want to date a Freddie, so she became Winnie, his wife and mother of five.
For the sixty-nine years of their marriage, she was the heart of the family. She did it all, and always with a song or whistling a tune. Magical Christmas mornings, Thanksgiving feasts with the good china on crisp antique white linen tablecloths. A summer place she helped to build, a steady hand on the bike once the training wheels came off. She taught us how to skate backwards, throw a fast ball, bake a cake. She could wallpaper a room like a pro, knit mittens, sew a skirt, make a house a home. Fifty pounds of birdseed made a great Valentine’s day gift, her green thumb meant a lovely bouquet for the teacher on the first day of school. They bred Boston Terriers, and she was a dog whisperer, always a dog by her feet as she sang in the kitchen or in her lap when she would finally sit at the end of a long day.
She worked hard, note cards spread on the dining room table to help her memorize a scheme to throw a route in the post office. She worked hard, saving money diligently so we could have nice things. She worked hard, always pushing the man she married to be the best he could be, helping her children succeed in life, to overcome tragedy. As her daughter I truly believed I could do anything I set my mind to, and I did, thanks to her. Had she been born in another age without restrictions on the possibilities offered, she could have achieved anything. She wore her heart on her sleeve, but she had grit.
The last years of her life were her worst fears come true. The bright flame of her intellect dimmed by age, was fanned only by her poetry, her songs, a dog in her lap, until her light went out forever. The memory of her will never leave us, reflected in the words and deeds of her generations as they make their way in the world.
Winnie was the beloved wife of the late William Casey, and the devoted mother of Christine Cohen and her husband Howard, Elaine Boerger, Janet Casey and her husband GuidoTamburini , William Casey and his wife Lisa, and Matthew Casey and his wife Francesca Silvi Casey. She was the loving grandmother of Michael Boerger, Patrick, Jeffrey and Emily Cohen, Andrew Casey and his wife Jamie, Allison Casey, Wiktoria, Jadwiga and Zofia Tamburini, Katherine Casey, and Julia and Kevin Casey. Winnie was the dear sister of the late Barbara Sforza, and the loving aunt of James Dager, Joyce Mastromarino and Susan Sforza.
A graveside service will be conducted at Oak Grove Cemetery, 230 Playstead Rd., Medford on Monday, August 31st at 11 AM. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours have been respectfully omitted. In lieu of flowers contributions may be sent in Winnie's name to a charity of One's choice.