President Biden traveling to Scranton to pay respects to Ellen Casey

President Joe Biden will visit Scranton today to privately pay respects to the family of former Pennsylvania first lady Ellen Casey, mother of U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, the White House announced. Ellen Casey, 91, died Aug. 11.

A public visitation will be held from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. today at St. Peter’s Cathedral in downtown Scranton, with a funeral mass on Friday at 10 a.m., also at St. Peter’s.

Ellen Casey was first lady of Pennsylvania from 1987 to 1995 while her husband, Bob Casey Sr., served as the commonwealth’s 42nd governor. The senior Bob Casey died in 2000.

Biden, a native of Scranton, said in a statement earlier this week that one of the things he most looked forward to on trips there was the chance to visit with Mrs. Casey.

“Ellen Casey lived a life of extraordinary dignity and grace. Jill and I will miss her dearly, never more so than on our trips back to Scranton,” the president said. “We’re grateful to her and Bob for giving the world so many wonderful children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, to carry on the Casey family legacy and values.”