World War II veteran and engineer James Patrick Casey, who helped build San Diego’s Community Concourse, Civic Theater, Administration Building, Convention Hall, and Qualcomm Stadium, recently celebrated his 100th birthday.

In honor of that milestone, Casey, with family and friends in attendance at his Point Loma home, was issued a Congressional proclamation on March 29 honoring his enduring community service to country and community by U.S. Rep. Scott Peters, whose 50th Congressional District includes Point Loma.

Casey, who turned 100 on March 24, had a “centennial” party thrown for him on that momentous occasion, hosted by his family with more than 200 people attending.

A WWII veteran, Casey enlisted in the Army at age 18 and left UC Berkeley in his first semester of his freshman year to serve. He was promoted to staff sergeant and served as an engineering foreman building the Burmese Pipeline in India. He was awarded the Victory Medal, the Bronze Medal, and the Soldier’s Medal.

He and his late wife, Marilouise moved to San Diego in 1956, where he started as a bridge designer for the City of San Diego. From 1963-1965, he was the division head of the San Diego City Engineering Department, where he was the project engineer for the Community Concourse, including the Civic Theater, the Administration Building, and Convention Hall. He then became the project engineer and oversight designer for Jack Murphy (Qualcomm) Stadium.

In 1977, Casey was appointed the city engineer and director of engineering and development. He served the City for 12 years in this capacity until retiring in 1989. He was honored with a celebratory retirement dinner with more than 400 people attending. It was declared by the City as James P. Casey Day.

At the March 29 extended family gathering at his home, Casey, when asked if he’d ever thought he would live to be 100, answered, “No, but I never thought about it.”

Asked his secret to longevity, he replied: “To live another year after 99.”

Concerning his WWII experience, Casey said: “I enlisted. I wasn’t drafted, and I served in Burma (now Myanmar). I was in the (Army) Corps of Engineers and helped build the Burmese pipeline.”

In issuing Casey his proclamation, Peters noted: “We have 235,000 veterans in San Diego County. It’s important to recognize your contribution and to honor you like you honored us. So we have a little obnoxious birthday card for you. This is a Congressional proclamation (which Peters read) that says a little bit about you. Congratulations Jim. Thank you again.”

“Now it’s time for your speech,” Peters told Casey, who responded, “I want to thank everybody for coming. It’s a wonderful, wonderful thing to accept and I accept it with great relish. I’m very pleased to have the Congressman here.”

Peters had one more thing to give to Casey, which he did, a commemorative coin. “I got nothin’ else,” joked Peters.

Someone in the audience commented that Casey has a taste for sardines, to which he retorted, “No one ever gets into my sardines.”

The Casey clan consists of nine children, 19 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. During his long life, he was an avid kayaker and won several San Diego Bay senior kayak races when he was in his 60s. He continued his passion for kayaking until he was in his late 80s.

Casey was also honored recently with other WWII veterans at a San Diego Padres game, where he proudly wore his original Army uniform.

Casey enjoys a great social life with his many friends and attends daily Mass. His family said he loves to spend time at his workbench in his garage, building and repairing things. They noted he “has quite a tool collection at his home. He is also technically savvy and is on his computer every day. It is a marvel how he keeps track of our large family. He even sends us all email reminders for every birthday and anniversary.”

Casey’s family added: “He has always been physically fit, and still does his daily calisthenics regimen. Jim has a keen intellect, a great sense of humor, and finds joy in each day. James Patrick Casey is a proud Irishman and greatly values his beloved Irish heritage and his City of San Diego. He is an inspiration to his great many friends and his large, loving family, and greatly beloved by all.”

Centenarian: A person who has reached the age of 100. The term is invariably associated with longevity because life expectancies worldwide are well below 100. The United Nations estimated 316,600 living centenarians worldwide in 2012 and 573,000 in 2020, almost quadrupling the 2000 estimate of 151,000.

Though the proportion of people reaching 100 is slowly increasing over time, statistics show it’s still extremely rare, with roughly one person in every 6,000 reaching their 100th birthday today. Fifty years ago, only one person in every 67,000 reached the century mark. Only 0.0173 percent of Americans today live to age 100.