Ruth Schanze Casey

Ruth Schanze Casey

August 20, 1931 – March 31, 2022

On March 31st, 2022 the Lord called Ruth Schanze Casey home after having experienced 90 years of his faithful provision. Ruth was born to Walter Chatfield Schanze and Leah Saltman Schanze on August 20th, 1931 at Cortland Hospital, in Cortland, NY. She was the middle child, with a younger brother (William) and older sister (Gloria).

Her childhood was spent in the Finger Lakes.  At age 10 she moved from the rural farming community of Virgil to Ithaca where she lived in a beautiful 3 story home overlooking Cascadilla Gorge.  Her father had a Barber shop in College Town and her parents enjoyed providing rooms for Cornell college students.   Ruth loved to draw portraits, had a great love for nature and the family garden, and cherished times with her Irish Setter named Judy.

Ruth attended Belle Sherman Elementary school in Ithaca where she made wonderful friends and teachers, and graduated from Ithaca High School in 1949. These were wonderful years in her life. She continued to Cornell University and pursued her love of languages, majoring in German.

Upon graduating from Cornell in 1953 she took a job with the National Security Agency as a language expert and met her husband to be, Charles R. “Chuck” Casey. They were married in Cornell’s Sage Chapel August 6, 1955.

Much of their married life was spent in Catonsville, Maryland. Ruth’s favorite occupation was being a mother and a homemaker.  She was the proud mother of her son Jim and daughter Gloria.  She loved making meal times special and insisted the family take time each day at the table to share with each other.  She was very involved at Bishop Cummins Church leading women’s bible studies, children’s programs and authoring a bible study entitled “Blessed Attitudes”.  Upon moving to Ithaca with Chuck in 1987, she joined Bethel Grove Bible Church and the Ithaca Women’s Bible Study. Ruth always had a servant’s heart, spent time in daily prayer, and strove to honor God in all she did. Family brought her Joy and her love shaped many lives. She loved attending her granddaughters’ sporting events in both Michigan and Ithaca, which included Volleyball, Soccer, Track, Cross Country, Softball, Basketball and Lacrosse.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Leah Schanze, her beloved husband of 48 years, Chuck, and her sister, Gloria (Fay) Schanze Griffin.

She is survived by her brother, William (Alice Ann) Schanze of Midvale, UT; son, Jim (Deb) Casey, Ithaca, NY; daughter, Gloria (Tim) Beam, Lake Odessa, MI; four granddaughters, Elisabeth Beam Ruby (Jace), Little Falls, MN; Elena Casey (Alex Vaeth), Eau Claire, WI; Christy Beam Liggins (Joshua), Lake Odessa, MI; and Melinda Casey Pierce (Max), Los Angeles, CA; five great grandchildren: Isaiah, Avielle and Zion Liggins and Gwennyth and J.J. Ruby; and many nieces and nephews.

Ruth’s family would like to extend sincere gratitude to Dr. Ann Costello, and the caring staffs of Brookdale Ithaca and The Bridges of Cornell Heights.

Visitation hours will be at Perkins Funeral Home in Dryden NY. between 4-6pm on April 22nd, and a Celebration of her life will be held at Bethel Grove Bible Church in Ithaca NY on April 23rd at noon, followed by a reception at the church. Anyone wishing to send flowers can send them to the church and donations in her honor can be sent to: Worldwide Proclamation [Formerly Open Air Campaigners, Overseas Ministries] PO Box D, Nazareth PA 18064-0520. Please write David Wilson on Check Memo Line.

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