John Loren Casey was born on March 6, 1939 in Cascade, Iowa and died peacefully after a short illness on October 16, 2024 at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa.   John was the sixth of nine children born to James W. Casey and Mary Alberta Mahan who farmed outside of Cascade.  He attended Brown Elementary School, graduating from St. Martin High School in 1957 and Loras College in 1961.  After a short time as a caseworker for the Cook County Department of Public Welfare in Chicago, he entered Mount Saint Bernard Seminary in Dubuque Iowa in 1963 and was ordained a Deacon in 1967.

As a Deacon, John served St. Joseph parish in Farley, St. Joseph Parish in Waterloo, and taught at Columbus High School in Waterloo.  Ordained to the priesthood in 1974, he then served St. Joseph Parish in Marion, and Immaculate Conception Parish in Cedar Rapids while he taught religion at Regis High School.

John enjoyed a love of flying from childhood and became a pilot as an adult.  In 1976, he moved to Westerly, Rhode Island to be a flight instructor for a fixed base operator.  He returned to Iowa a year later and flew freight for SMB airlines and later for Beyer Aviation of Dubuque.

John married Mary Kay Nicolay of Oelwein in 1980 and they settled in Des Moines, welcoming their son, Peter, into their family in 1984.  He continued his airline career flying out of Des Moines for American Central Airline and Airfreight Express.   He began flying for Great Lakes Aviation of Spencer in 1984 and from there retired in 2003.  In his retirement he was employed as a substitute teacher for both the Des Moines and Ankeny Public Schools.

John was an astute student of military history, visiting most of the major battlefields of the Civil War with his college and seminary friends on motorcycle trips.  He and Peter tramped about the battlefields of Europe: Verdun, Waterloo, Agincourt, Normandy, Mortain, Bastogne, Dunkirk, and the Failise Gap as well as the battlefield at Hastings.

In his own words, John “rejoiced for all those he met, worked with, and loved in his lifetime and asks forgiveness from those he hurt. It is with profound gratitude that he was given this great adventure accompanied with wonder and curiosity. He remained especially grateful for the fascination of flight, which–along with John Gilipsie Magee Jr.–offered him the opportunity to ‘…reach out and touch the face of God’.

John is predeceased by his parents, sister Venita, brothers Duane and Glenn and twin sisters who died in infancy.  He will be loved and remembered by his son, Peter, and his ex-spouse and companion, Mary Kay Casey.

A Visitation will be held Sunday, October 27, 4-8 pm, at Reiff Funeral Home, Cascade, Iowa with the Funeral Mass on Monday, October 28,  2024 at 11 am, St. Matthias Catholic Church in Cascade, with Rev. Mark Osterhaus presiding.  A dinner will follow.

A celebration of John’s life will be held in Des Moines at a later date.

An online Video tribute may be viewed and online condolences sent to the family at www.reifffunerlahomeinc.com