Babette Casey

BABETTE D. CASEY (nee Collins) age 96, beloved wife of the late Joseph; loving mother of Babette Schubert (husband Paul); devoted grandmother of Elizabeth Coerdt, Paul, Thomas and Joseph Schubert; loving companion of the late John “Jack” McKenna.

To our family and friends on behalf of our family our sincere appreciation for your being here and your support at this time. I would like to share with you some special thoughts about my beloved mother Babette Casey.

My mom was born Babette Collins in 1921 in Chicago the youngest of 4 children. Her father was born when Lincoln was president.  Notably, my mom lived through the pre-depression highs and post-depression lows of the 1930’s and WWII. She and her family experienced the emotions of seeing her only brother, enlisted Army Air Corp, be shot down on his last mission and go through three years in a prisoner of war camp. Positively, when he returned she introduced him to her best friend who became his wife. That is the kind of person my mom was.  Shortly after that, my mother met my father Joe Casey after whom our son Joe is named.  My parents met in Chicago where my Dad’s work as an engineer had him assigned. Subsequently he was transferred to Cleveland where they were married in 1955.  This assignment did not last long and my parents moved back to my father’s home town of Philadelphia. My parents were married until my fathers far too early passing in 1987. My mom volunteered at my school and later worked to provide the extra income we needed for my private Catholic school school education which they strongly supported. My parents enjoyed so many things together. I am an only child and grew up with memories of them dancing – the jitterbug of course and wonderful family dinners as we were so close. My mom was an amazing cook. She always said that she could read cookbooks like a love story and she collected many cookbooks. My mom taught me most of what I know about cooking but I don’t know if I have ever come close to her expertise.  My mom also loved crafts of any kind. When she was growing up she made her own paper dolls and created gorgeous fashions for them that I still have.  My mom taught me how to sew (we made most of our own clothes), to garden, knit, crochet and needlepoint.  All this work though did cause her a great deal of arthritic pain later in life but I don’t think she would have traded that for the creations and memories of those experiences.

While living as a widow on her own in the house in which I grew up, my mom kept busy continuing her post-retirement hospital volunteer work and was able to travel to places she had never been like Ireland and Switzerland.

I moved to Cleveland myself in 1988 and my mom followed me later here in the mid 1990’s settling into a lovely condo at Woodhawk in Mayfield Heights. She delighted in being only around the corner from her only granddaughter Elizabeth for whom she could cook and teach her some of our crafts and gardening. These joys were interrupted for a time when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Being otherwise in excellent health, she was able to successfully recover and resume her life which included volunteer work at Hillcrest. Through volunteering, my mom made many friends including the McKennas. Vicky McKenna had a cancer diagnosis around the same time as my mom but unfortunately succumb. After Vicky’s passing and my mom’s recovery, my mom started regularly seeing Vicky’s widower Jack McKenna.  They fell in love and Jack sold his house in Pepper Pike to purchase a condo just a few steps down from my mom.  They were happily together over fifteen years until Jack’s passing just three years ago.  Jack was a proud godfather to our son Joe.

It became clear after Jack’s passing that my mom was in need of an assisted living setting and she moved into Hamlet Hills enjoying many new friends and experiences. Thank you amongst others Ralph Tracey and Helen Crowley for all you companionship and support. You made all the difference in the world. My mom was looking forward to celebrating her 100^th birthday with you.

My mom brought so much to her friends and family – to me, my husband and her four grandchildren always willing to help however she could. She was also a devoted Catholic her whole life reflected in how she believed in serving others by her volunteer work and the many ways she would try to help her family and friends.

We are all blessed to have had my mom in our lives for so many years and our lives will be forever influenced by her presence.

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made in memory of Babette to Holy Child School at Rosemont 1344 Montgomery Ave. Bryn Mawr, PA 19010. Family will receive friends to pay tribute to and celebrate the life of Babette at THE DeJOHN-FLYNN-MYLOTT FUNERAL HOME OF SOUTH EUCLID, 4600 MAYFIELD RD. (just east of Green Rd.) Tuesday 5-8 PM. Burial will take place on Monday, June 19, 2017 at Calvary Cemetery in Conshohocken, PA. Mass of Christian Burial in memory of Babette will take place at Our Lady Chapel, Gilmour at a later date.