Kathleen Ann Casey

The greatest adventure is ahead, and this seasoned traveler will not need a passport at the gates.  Kathleen (Petesch) Casey accepted God’s one-way ticket to her eternal home on December 16, 2019 after a brave, fierce five-year battle with mesothelioma.

Kathy collected her first passport stamp when she entered this world on June 18, 1952 as the first daughter of Henry and Rosemary Petesch.  She was baptized a child of God at St. Rose of Lima in Fredonia, Wisconsin where she later attended elementary school and continued to grow in the Catholic faith.  Kathy was raised on the family dairy farm with her two sisters, Connie and MaryBeth, where she helped her father with daily chores such as picking rocks with a bucket and cutting thistles while assisting her mother with washing dishes, weeding the garden, and  picking vegetables to sell and pay for college tuition. From the beginning, self-sacrifice was an integral part of her nature, and these small acts of love and devotion set the stage for a life filled with service.

Kathy graduated from Ozaukee High School in 1969 and, inspired by her paternal grandmother, who was a teacher, went on to pursue a double major in English and Spanish at UW-Whitewater.  In the summer of 1971, fueled by a sense of adventure and a love of language, she traveled to Mexico City to study at La Universidad Iberoamericana. As she adorned her passport with its first international stamp, the seed of passion for international travel was planted.  After earning her degrees, Kathy began her teaching career at Horning Middle School in Waukesha, WI. It was in this Milwaukee suburb where, while flashing a beautiful smile and long, flowing black hair, she met Jim, the love of her life. He asked her to dance, and thus began a lifelong partnership of love and labor.  Jim proposed on Valentine’s Day with a ring in a heart-shaped chocolate box, and they were married on August 2, 1975. Kathy wore a dress her mother bought her and donned a mantilla veil, the traditional Spanish wedding attire. Together, they bought a farm in rural Cambria with the down payment of a tractor. They raised hogs and cash crops for seventeen years as K-C Farms.  Always a hard worker and a person of diverse skills, Kathy not only helped with farrowing hogs, but she also acted as bookkeeper, chief cook, and bottle washer.

During their early years of farming, the Caseys were blessed with two children; of course, she had favorites: a favorite daughter and a favorite son.  As a working mother who was also helping on the farm, her free time was limited, and she gracefully juggled her many responsibilities to selflessly support those around her. She attended her children’s every concert, sporting event, forensics speech, and 4-H activity.  Señora Casey became a recognized figure in the bleachers, school bag in tow, correcting papers during halftime and intermissions while shouting words of encouragement to her children.

Her teaching career continued at Pardeeville Schools where she was instrumental in developing a rigorous, successful Spanish program.  She created a Spanish Club and pioneered and led a student travel program, spreading her passion for travel and Spanish-speaking cultures and providing opportunities for students to experience homestays in Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Guatemala for 25 summers.  Kathy’s personal goal for her 42 years of instruction was not merely to teach, but to engage and inspire her students. As a lifelong learner, she continued to innovate by taking technology classes and designing compelling, fast-paced lessons. Sra. made learning come alive for her students through the use of creative, culturally authentic projects and classroom traditions like singing verb tense songs she authored by adapting popular tunes, listening to Juanes each jueves , and learning grammar with Maru each martes .  And who could forget Sra. Casey’s fiestas complete with snacks, candy, and gummies?  These holiday celebrations would leave such an impression that, years later, her son-in-law would recount his fond memories of the days Sra.’s Spanish class was interrupted for an evento cultural .

For eleven summers, Kathy worked with the Summer Migrant Program and tended the A&A Farm Market Stand for Audrey and Arnie Vandervelde.  She was a member of Annunciation Catholic Church’s Resurrection Choir and took special delight as a song leader, cantoring often at Sunday Mass.  She was an active member of the Pardeeville Education Association where she served as an arbitrator for the teachers’ union and the Wisconsin Association for Language Teachers where she continued to hone her craft and inspire other language teachers.  In the early ‘80s she entered into a business venture with her Spanish teaching friends from college called VALE, which stood for Valuable Activities for Language Education. VALE published Spanish instructional materials and collaboratively focused on helping other educators.  She and her colleagues met on a regular basis to exchange teaching ideas: instructional strategies, tips for encouraging comprehension and language acquisition, and upcoming travel itineraries.

In 1994, the Casey family of four relocated ten miles east to Randolph with the purchase of the farm from Dr. Theodore ‘Doc’ and Jean Patek and built a new house on the farmstead.  The kids went off to college, married, and were fruitful, providing the Caseys with ten grandchildren! With each addition to the family, Kathy’s heart grew larger, and the grandchildren were her complete and utter joy.  Days at the cabin beach, games of Panic!, time spent proofreading essays and speeches, trips to Florida and Silver Dollar City were just some of the cherished moments she spent with her grandchildren. She delighted in cooking and baking (particularly muffins, cookies, and bread) for her grandchildren and sisters. Kathy had a great concern for the environment, recycling, and reducing waste.  She made every effort to “save what’s left for my grandchildren” by washing out and reusing sandwich bags, unplugging electronics, and ensuring that every light in the house was switched off when not in use.

Kathy’s legacy is one of generosity, curiosity, hard work, genuine care, and abundant love.  She is survived by her husband of 44 years, Jim Casey, daughter Billie-Jo (Chad) Brusveen, son Jonathan (Fran) Casey, and grandchildren: Ashton and Briella Brusveen, Max, Gabe, Lilia, Xavi, Isaac, Caleb, Dominic and Violet Casey, along with her sisters Connie (Dan) Holzmiller and MaryBeth Petesch (John Lemberger), mother-in-law, Lucille Casey, friends, cousins and relatives.  She was preceded in death by her mother and father, Rosemary and Henry Petesch, father-in-law, N. Wayne Casey, brother-in-law, Richard Casey, and sister-in-law, Mary Anderson.

A celebration of life visitation will be held at the Fox Lake Community Center, 248 East State Street, Fox Lake, on Friday, December 27, 2019 from 4 to 7 p.m.  There will be a short visitation on Saturday, December 28, 2019 at 10 a.m. at Annunciation Catholic Church, 305 Green Street, Fox Lake with a Resurrection Mass following at 11:00 a.m.  Kathy had a global sense of philanthropy and a desire to have all children receive an education. She always sponsored a child from South America or Mexico knowing how much education can impact a life.  For memorial contributions, Kathy designated Unbound, a non-profit organization that partners with families living in poverty, empowering them to become self-sufficient and fulfill their desired potential.  www.unbound.org

Our hearts are full of gratitude to family members, friends, neighbors, doctors, and medical staff for all their acts of kindness, food, prayers, visits, and kind words spoken to our family during the last five years.  Kathy reminded us, “If you start to feel sorry for yourself, do something nice for someone else. Create a Holy Moment.” She showed us that life is worth living, loving, and sharing, no matter what the challenge, when God is at your side.  We have been blessed to have had such an extraordinary wife, mother, grandma, sister, friend, and teacher. ¡Ella era la mejor!