LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — The wake for Ellen Casey, the former first lady of Pennsylvania, drew long lines of mourners on Thursday.
"It's an outpouring of love and affection for Mrs. Casey as well as the Casey family, and it is to be expected, but we got here pretty early because we knew the throngs of people here would turn out and want to see her and be with her one more time," said former State Representative Kevin Blaum.
Several hundred people were waiting in line Thursday afternoon to pay their respects to Casey, who passed away last week at the age of 91.
Blaum says one of his fondest memories of Casey was when he asked her to help promote Mohegan Sun Arena when it opened in Wilkes-Barre Township.
"When we opened the arena, she stood next to me, and we cut the ribbon," said Blaum. "She was there the day the seats were installed."
"When she was first lady, she came to the conference that we had for the Mid-Atlantic region for music therapy in Harrisburg," said Sister Mariam Pfeifer.
Having gone to school with Casey, Pfeifer says the former first lady of Pennsylvania was a great wife and an outstanding mother.
"I think she was just a wonderful mother and a wonderful lady; she was just always very gracious," said Pfifer.
Having been a friend to some of Casey's eight children, Mary Joyce McCarthy says no one raised a better family to carry on her legacy.
"You hear younger people complaining about raising one and two, three, four kids, and it's so difficult. There's a woman who raised eight," said McCarthy. "You know she produced a beautiful family, and they're all raised as wonderful people."