Donald E. Casey ’48

Donald E. Casey ’48, a Chicago lawyer, war hero and author, died March 16 of kidney failure. A native of Oak Park, Illinois, Don came to Dartmouth from Campion Jesuit High School in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, Purdue University and service in the Army Air Force as a B-17 Flying Fortress navigator. Don and his crew were shot down during a mission over Hamburg, Germany, in June 1944. He was captured and held in prisoner of war camps in Poland and Bavaria. In his later years he wrote a book about his wartime experiences and volunteered at the Pritzker Military Museum in Chicago. After his discharge from the service in 1945 Don entered Dartmouth, majored in economics and was a member of Chi Gamma Epsilon. After graduation he worked for a Chicago insurance company for three years while attending Loyola University School of Law at night. He then entered private law practice and made several unsuccessful bids for judicial positions in Cook County and Chicago. He also became president of the Chicago Athletic Association. “I met him initially as a member of the Chicago Athletic Association, and encountered him many years later as an adversary in a legal matter,” writes friend William Schur ’72. “We often conversed about Dartmouth, for which he cared deeply.” In his later years he was diagnosed with post-traumatic shock syndrome. He advocated for veterans of all ages who suffered from that condition. He is survived by his wife, Alice, and son Donald Jr. ’74.