Biden to pay respects to former Pennsylvania first lady Ellen Casey, who died last week in Scranton

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is touring to Pennsylvania on Thursday to privately pay his respects to the mom of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who died final week in Biden’s hometown of Scranton.

The president is anticipated to reach earlier than visiting hours for Ellen Casey, who additionally was a former first woman of Pennsylvania, at St. Peter’s Cathedral.

Casey, the widow of Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey and the mom of Casey, D-Pa., died at age 91. Biden issued an announcement Monday commemorating her life.

Earlier than boarding the airplane, Biden stated Ellen Casey was an honorable and respectable lady.

“She performed an infinite function not simply in my life, however everybody’s,” Biden instructed reporters. “She was an unimaginable lady, respectable, honorable, her values had been wonderful. And each time I’d go to Scranton through the years, I’d cease and see her. She was a pal.”

Biden additionally launched a prolonged assertion earlier this week commemorating her life.

The president, who grew up close to the Casey family, stated Ellen Casey embodied the “Scranton values,” of household and public service.

Biden, 80, is not any stranger to grief or loss, having misplaced his spouse and toddler daughter in a 1972 automotive accident. He misplaced his eldest son, Beau, to mind most cancers in 2015. And he talks usually about how these experiences have formed who he’s, first as a U.S. senator, then as vp and now president.

Ellen Casey misplaced her husband, who served as governor within the late 80s by way of the early 90s, to an an infection in 2000. The previous Democratic governor rose to nationwide prominence for his sturdy opposition to abortion, which frequently put him at odds with the Democratic Celebration.