Dennis Casey

Dennis David Casey, 88, of Lawrence, Kansas, passed away on Saturday, July 20, 2024, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital after a brief battle with cancer.

Dennis was born in Williston, N.D., on Oct. 14, 1935, the youngest child of Harry and Lily (Torgerson) Casey and he grew up in Wolf Point, played basketball at Montana State University and met Jean Peterson while there (although she attended rival University of Montana).

They married in 1956, lived in Bozeman until he graduated, and they returned to Wolf Point where he owned Casey Livestock and, later, Sidney Livestock with his father and brother.

Dennis and Jean had four children. An enthusiastic community booster with a contagious, positive personality, he was on the Wolf Point School board before serving in the Montana House of Representatives in 1975 and 1976; and then as Secretary of the Montana Senate in 1979. Later that same year, the family moved to Shawnee, Kansas, and he worked in government relations for the Livestock Marketing Association in Kansas City. In 1989, he and Jean moved to Helena, Mont., where he served as Commissioner of State Lands under Gov. Stan Stephens, and as a lobbyist for the Gaming Industry Association.

Dennis and Jean retired to Tucson, Ariz., and he became a Court Appointed Special Advocate, representing children who had been removed from their homes.

Dennis and Jean moved to Lawrence in 2014. Although Dennis moved from Wolf Point many years ago, it has always been home. He grew up here, played basketball on some very good high school teams, (state champions in 1952 and 1953) and was in business for 22 years at Casey