Charles Casey

At the age of 84, on March 29, 2023, Charles Arthur Casey of Montreal, peacefully slipped away at home. In his final hours, he was surrounded by the love of his devoted wife of 56 years Penny (Lafave) and his 6 children (aka “The Big Red Team”).

Dad was an instigator of fun and adventure and incredibly supportive to his children Colleen, Karen (Michael Krga), Kelly, Arthur (Yevgeniya Popova), Patrick (Jennifer Roach) and Kathy (Marc Johnson). He was unwaveringly loyal and utterly confident in our abilities.

He was a passionate cheerleader to his 16 grandkids Daniel, Molly, Sarah, Michelle, Erin, Chloe, Meaghan, Fedir, Vitaliy, Ryan, Cameron, Sean, Noah, Ellie, Brooke and Zoe who will all miss him terribly.

Chuck will also be greatly missed by his brother Donald Casey (Louise) who was steadfast in his support, especially in the last 3 difficult years. He will be fondly remembered by other family members including Chuck and Diane (Lafave) Bissegger, Marlene Lafave, many nieces, nephews and a wide circle of friends.

He was generous, thoughtful and an inspiration to many, but above all, Chuck was a devoted family man. He spent countless years volunteering as a coach to his children’s ringuette, hockey and soccer teams. Always active and fit, Chuck enjoyed downhill skiing with Penny and his kids at Ste-Marguerite ski club and later with his grandkids well into his 70’s. He was an avid runner and continued cross-country skiing until the age of 80. Always curious and the epitome of a lifelong learner, he took up SCUBA diving with his kids in his 50’s and continued until a last memorable trip with his boys for a week of diving in the Cayman Islands at the age of 74.

A past recipient of the Governor General Award as well as the Scarlet Key from McGill, Chuck continued working as a dedicated, hardworking and beloved dentist until the age of 81, when Covid started. Although innovative as a dentist, he mainly showed up for the people – he loved creating connections and taught his family to always see the best in people.

Never one to back away from challenges, fueled by his boundless optimism and his passion for woodworking, Chuck and Penny embarked upon building their cottage in Val Morin with their kids who were all teens at the time. Chuck treasured his time in Val Morin which remained their sanctuary where he took pride in their beautiful gardens. The family cherishes many memories made there including skiing, sailing, canoeing, kayaking and many hours of volleyball, epic card games and rounds of Trivial Pursuit.

A special thank you to Mom and Dad’s excellent carers Ingrid, Carmela, Foluke, Ngozi, Sherry, Sandra, Alina, Rabeya, Lisa and Noreen whose support allowed them to stay in their home. We would also like to express our gratitude to Dr. Desmond Milroy for his guidance and compassion since Dad’s stroke 2 years ago. Thanks finally to his trainer Danny, physio Mina and many others who helped him through his health challenges in the past 2 years.

Visitation will take place at Collins Clarke Funeral Home (222 Autoroute 20, at Cartier in Pointe-Claire) from 2 to 6 pm on Saturday, April 29th, followed by a celebration of life at Corpus Christi, 16 Pacific Ave, Senneville on Sunday, April 30th at 1pm which will be livestreamed: https://www.corpuschristiparish.ca/livestream . Those who wish to watch the funeral this way can go to the portal and find Charles Casey’s funeral service. If there is not a connection right away, simply refresh it and it should connect the second time.

Unfailingly selfless, in lieu of flowers, Dad would want a donation made to McGill Cares – a Montreal based resource for people with dementia, or to any other organization dedicated to Alzheimer’s, with which his beloved Penny still struggles.