Geraldine R. Casey

A Funeral Mass for Geraldine R. Casey, age 98 of Potsdam will be held at 10:00am on Friday January 4, 2019 at St. Mary’s Church in Potsdam with Rev. Stephen Rocker officiating. Burial will be in the spring at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Potsdam.

Calling hours will be held on Thursday (Jan 3, 2019) from 3:00-7:00pm at the Garner Funeral Home. Mrs. Casey died on New Year’s Day 2019 at Maplewood Health Care & Rehabilitation Center in Canton, N.Y. She had been a resident there for only a short time, after a long life lived in her home with a willful determination to chart her own course.

Geraldine was born at home in Ft. Covington, N.Y. to John L. and Bertha (Longtin) Ranger on February 29, 1920, fifteen months after the conclusion of the First World War. She attended Ft. Covington High School from first grade until graduation in 1938. She entered Potsdam Normal School in 1941 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Potsdam State Teacher’s College in 1944. She began her teaching career in East Nassau, N.Y. shortly thereafter.

After deciding that it was just too far from home, she moved back North the following year. On July 30, 1945 she was married to Jeremiah Jay Casey at St. Mary’s Church in Ft. Covington by Father Robert DuFord. The next year, she taught at West Parishville Rural School.

She spent ten years raising a family of four: Kathleen, Michael, Mary Jay, and Sarah.

She got a job teaching at Colton-Pierrepont Central School, where she spent decades educating generations of young people until her retirement in 1979.

For many years, she planted and cared for a flower and vegetable garden. When her vegetables were especially abundant, she would can or freeze the excess.

She valued the stability and structure of a predictable routine, which included lots of time enjoyably spent reading. The crossword puzzles in the newspaper also constituted a cherished part of her routine. She kept current with the news.

She enjoyed meeting with friends for lunch once each month. In her later years, she especially liked gathering at McDonald’s a few times each week for coffee and the camaraderie of her peers.

She belonged to St. Mary's Altar & Rosary Society, and the New York State Retired Teachers Association (NYSRTA) of Northern N.Y.

Geraldine lived a long and fulfilling life, and was consequently predeceased by many of those she loved. Her bother, 1st Lt. John R. Ranger, was killed in action while serving as a United States Air Force fighter pilot in the Pacific theater during World War II. Her parents, her sister Mary (Frank) Taylor, her husband Jay Casey, her daughter Kathleen (Frank) Bradish, her son Michael Casey, and her grandson Michael Casey, Jr. are also deceased.

She is survived by two daughters, Mary Jay (Earl) Lenhardt, of Slingerlands, and Sarah (Tony) Fiacco, of Potsdam; four grandchildren, Bridget (Jim) Hubbard, Mark (Tracy) Bradish, Sean Casey, and Adam Lenhardt; four great grandchildren, Jay Bradish, Morgan Bradish, Grace Casey, and Riley Casey; a niece, Kristine (Alan) Reynolds; and two nephews, Dr. Raymond Taylor and Dennis Taylor.

Expressions of sympathy may be made in the form of contributions to: Hospice and Palliative Care of St Lawrence Valley or the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Condolences and fond memories can also be shared online at www.garnerfh.com.