Dennis Casey had a twinkle in his eye, a receptive face, and a smile that lit up the room. He was fun-loving, witty, lived with gusto and had a contagious laugh we will always remember. His priorities were his faith and his family. He had a heart for people and a way of making each feel special. He was a kind, generous, and a man of high morals and standards.
“Denny” was born on September 15, 1941 in Cincinnati, Ohio to Howard and Florence Casey and grew up there with his three siblings. After his dad died early in his childhood, he worked numerous jobs to help the family. Despite his busy schedule, a coach encouraged him to try out for the basketball team at Elder High School in Cincinnati. Ultimately, this led him to come sight unseen to Rollins College in Central Florida on a basketball scholarship where he was soon chasing after a Georgia Peach in psychology class. “Bulldog”, as they affectionately called him, and his beloved Georgia Peach, Virginia, married after college, and made a deal with each other…she wouldn’t have to go to Cincinnati, and he wouldn’t have to go to Waycross, and they settled close to Rollins in beautiful Winter Park.
After college, Dennis was blessed with a great opportunity in wholesale distribution at Sta-Rite Industries under the tutelage of Quentin Bittle. His hard work and creativity resulted in great success covering and traveling the Southeast, and wonderful family trips with the company. As his career accelerated, he had a significant series of promotion opportunities including at corporate headquarters in Wisconsin. But after 18 years of “corporate bliss” and significant time on the road, he declined and transitioned 180 degrees to real estate & development. He joined Florida Ranch Lands, the company famous for assembling the land that is Disney World. He brokered mainly land tracts which led to land development and was there for 30 years. He continued up to his last months in residential development using his uncanny eye for beauty and space along with his bent toward entrepreneurship to put together unique real estate projects. His creativity, vision, and meticulous attention to detail can be seen throughout Central Florida.
Dennis was a devout follower of Jesus and a devoted member of St. Mary Magdalen (40 years) and St. Margaret Mary (20 years) during his time in Central Florida. Dennis faithfully attended daily mass and daily prayed for his family and friends. Dennis and his beloved Virginia enjoyed visiting family and traveling with friends, but their favorite escape was New Smyrna Beach, the hub for great family holidays and reunions. One year they had as many as 45 family members for Christmas, playing football on the beach and the traditional throwing of wadded balls of Christmas wrapping paper. “Denny” played a lot of tennis before “new” knees and hips, was a gourmet chef, enjoyed creating and working in the yard, dabbled in antiques, and so enjoyed his Friday afternoon lunch bunch friends.
Dennis is survived and loved by his wife of 60 years, Virginia Sands Casey, and three children and their spouses, Virginia and Chip Brookhart of Atlanta; Karen and Anderson Cannon of Atlanta; and Dennis James (Jimmy), Jr. and Tara Casey of Charlotte. “DenDen” has proudly passed on his legacy to eight jasper grandchildren: Casey Brookhart O’Neal and husband Chris O’Neal, Smith Wildman Brookhart V, Stewart Arthur Brookhart, Anderson Trice Cannon, Ella Sands Cannon, Anderson Colar Brookhart, Norah Ann Casey and his special and beloved, “CC” Caroline Delaney Casey. He is survived by his siblings: older sister, Maureen Casey Finn of Cincinnati, and younger siblings, Terence Howard Casey of Cincinnati and Nancy Casey Kerstetter of Louisville, OH; his sister in law, Saundra Hester of Winter Park, FL; and by many cousins, nieces, and nephews, all of whom he loved dearly.
A Celebration of Life mass will be held at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Winter Park on Saturday, August 14 at 11am. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes for any contributions to be made in Dennis’ memory to St. Margaret Mary Church or Rollins College Athletics.
Arrangements under the direction of DeGusipe Funeral Home, Maitland, FL www.degusipe.com
Published by Orlando Sentinel from Aug. 7 to Aug. 8, 2021.
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