Msgr. John F. Casey, a retired priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, was born on Dec. 31, 1928, was ordained to the priesthood on May 29, 1954, and died Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, at age 94.
Msgr. Casey served the Diocese of Brooklyn as pastor of the parishes of Incarnation (Queens Village), Sacred Heart (Bayside), and Holy Rosary (Brooklyn). He also served as temporary administrator of the parishes of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine (Jamaica) and Sacred Heart (Cambria Heights); and as parochial vicar at the Parish of Saint Patrick (Long Island City).
Msgr. Casey was also a member of the Diocesan Presbyteral Council, Director of the Diocesan Black and Indian Mission, and chairman of the Diocesan Assignment Policy Committee.
He also served as principal at the Cathedral Preparatory Seminary. Msgr. Casey was a member of the Priests’ Purgatorial Society, and in 1982, Msgr. Casey was named Prelate of Honor.
“Msgr. Casey was a wise priest, a saintly priest, a grandfather figure for so many people in our parish,” said Father Patrick Longalong, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Queens Village, where Msgr. Casey lived for a number of years after his retirement.
“Wherever he served, he left a mark that people will not forget,” Father Longalong said.
A funeral Mass for Msgr. Casey was celebrated Tuesday, Dec. 19, at Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston.
Bishop Robert Brennan was the main celebrant, with Father Longalong as co-celebrant. Burial followed at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn.
Sister Thomas Edna Stack, CSJ, quietly and peacefully entered into her eternal rest on Nov. 3, 2023. She was 96 years old. She was born and educated in the Bronx at Villa Maria Academy from which she graduated in 1944.
She earned a BS in chemistry from the College of Mount Saint Vincent and secured a position with a chemical firm. She entered the Sisters of Saint Joseph on Sept. 6, 1951, and was known for the next 70-plus years as Sister Thomas Edna.
Her first teaching assignment was at Saint Rose of Lima in Brooklyn where she taught the 7th grade. In 1957 Sister Thomas Edna began her long and illustrious career as a science teacher at The Mary Louis Academy, Bishop Kearney Diocesan High School, and Saint Agnes Seminary while earning an MS in education from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1973 she was sent to Rockaway Park where for the next 23 years she taught at Stella Maris High School and encouraged young women to realize and work to their full potential.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Sister Thomas labored tirelessly to help restore peace and tranquility to the home she shared with 20 other Sisters at Stella Maris Convent. She was present at every community prayer gathering and delighted in celebrating special events with her sisters. Sister Thomas had a deep devotion to the Eucharist and love of the Blessed Mother.
She was known throughout the Peninsula for her welcoming manner and genuine concern for each one she met. Many of her neighbors and former students joined the Sisters of Saint Joseph on Nov. 9, in Saint Camillus-St. Virgilius Church as Father Thomas Haggerty and several neighboring priests celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial for Sister Thomas Edna.
Burial followed at Calvary Cemetery in Brentwood.