Here is a photo of the names inscribed and one of the names from Taunton.

The first story is of our late member Dr. Bill Casey, who lost his daughter-in-law on 9/11.  Bill was very involved for years as one of our Lodge Scholarship Committee members and he was a retired School Superintendent for the Belmont School System.

Bill's Daughter-in-law, Neilie Casey was among the passengers killed aboard American Airlines Flight 11 at 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, when the plane was flown by terrorists into the World Trade Center in New York.

She was on a business trip for TJX Cos., where she worked as a merchandise planning manager. Her daughter Riley was 7 months old at the time. Early that morning, Neilie Casey got up at 5:40 a.m. to get ready and woke Riley to kiss her goodbye.

Her husband, Taunton native Michael W. Casey, kissed and hugged Neilie before she left the house.  When the day was over, Michael Casey was a single parent.

Neilie Casey was 32, loved sports, particularly golf, running and the Red Sox. She had a wide circle of friends, a beaming smile and was very active in supporting non-profit groups to make a difference in people’s lives.

Michael Casey, who grew up on Briarwood Drive and is the youngest of four children, attended Elizabeth Pole Elementary, Martin Middle and Taunton High schools. At Taunton High, he was president of his class and a star runner. He graduated from Holy Cross College.

The second story is of our life member Peter B. Gay, who lost his son on 9/11.  Peter served as our State Representative some years ago.  And our member David T. Gay, who lost his brother.

Peter's son, Peter A. Gay was among the passengers killed aboard American Airlines Flight 11 at 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, when the plane was flown by terrorists into the World Trade Center in New York, he was 54 years old at the time of his death.  Peter's remains were found at the World Trade Center site and identified in October 2001.

An avid outdoors man who enjoyed fishing and boating on Cape Cod, Gay was also a runner, an accomplished clarinetist, loved to cook and was known to be able to fix anything. . He had five brothers and a sister, and was the father of two sons and a daughter.  He and his wife, Linda, had lived in Tewksbury.

 

An honors graduate of Coyle High School, where there is a scholarship in his name, he was a 32-year veteran at Raytheon and vice president of operations for electronic systems, and grew up in Taunton.

 

I thought this was an appropriate time to share their stories and to always remember them and their families. I am sure, many other Elks have similar stories, we will never forget them anyone who was killed on September 11, 2001.   Please feel free to share this with your members.

Sincerely,

Jim