Ingeborg Casey

Madison - Ingeborg Gubler Casey died in her Madison, Wisconsin, home on Friday, December 9, 2011, at age 73. She was born, Ingeborg Gubler in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, on September 3, 1938, the daughter of Hans Gubler and Paula Langjahr, natives of Switzerland. Ingeborg Casey was the name she used professionally, but to her friends and family she was always known as "Biby," the name given to her by her four year old big sister, Elfrid, who could not pronounce "Ingeborg."
Biby was raised in Delavan and Lake Geneva, WI. She entered Shimer College, Mt.Carroll, Ill., at age 15, and, after studying the great books program, mathematics and modern dance, she focused on psychology, receiving her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1967. She taught psychology at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon and at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and taught "Women in Psychology" at UW-Whitewater. She worked with delinquent girls and with adult prisoners for several years and served on the Governor's Task Force on Offender Rehabilitation (1971-72).
Ingeborg wrote a memoir, The Heart Moves in a Circular Manner: A Story of Healing, dealing with her lifelong relationship with her schizophrenic mother. After many years in the private practice of psychology in the Madison area, including 27 years with her husband, Bob Smith, she retired in 2007.
Biby and Bob were avid bicyclists, including memorable trips in Vermont, Canada, France, Germany and Austria. They hiked in National Parks in the U.S. and in Switzerland and enjoyed ballroom dancing weekly. Annual X-C ski trips in northern Wisconsin with Bob's siblings were the highpoints of each winter. Bob recalls, "We exercised frequently at the Y, and Biby was a proponent of eating healthily. She loved literature, played the piano daily and was disciplined in her study of German."
In her retirement Biby started painting in water colors. She had a lifelong interest in the arts and encouraged her grandchildren in those pursuits, especially in music, painting and the performing arts.
Ken Casey, Biby's ex-husband and father of her twin sons, Brian and Evan, is a long term friend to Biby and Bob. He describes Biby as "the most generous and loving person I've known. One of our twin sons once told her that she 'collected people.' And, as those she collected acquired significant others, spouses or children, she incorporated all of them into her extended family and insured that they gathered together regularly on holidays. As Christmas presents were exchanged among this extended family, mysterious gifts appeared from 'The Christmas Elf.' The identity of the elf was never formally revealed, but we all knew who it was when we noticed that the elf gave presents to everyone but Biby."
Biby's laughter was contagious. A friend remarked, "That woman knows how to live life!" It invited people to relax and see the humor in themselves and the world.
Survivors include her husband, Robert E. Smith, and twin sons, Brian (Shelly) Casey, Tomahawk, WI, and Evan Casey, Rochester, MN; a sister, Elfrid Gubler Gioumousis, Palo Alto, CA; 5 grandchildren: Quinn, Shea & Cade in Tomahawk, and Claire & Ethan in Rochester.
Ingeborg's family greatly appreciates the help and support given them by the nurses and doctors at UW Hospital and Agrace Hospice Care. A memorial service celebrating Biby's life will be held at Holy Wisdom Monastery, 4200 County Rd M, Middleton, WI on December 27, 2011, at 11:00 a.m. with lunch and reception to follow at 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Agrace Hospice Care or to Holy Wisdom Monastery would be appreciated.