Former Pennsylvania First Lady Ellen Casey dies

HARRISBURG, Pa. (KDKA) -- Former Pennsylvania First Lady Ellen Casey, the mother of Sen. Bob Casey, has died, her family announced on Friday. 

The Casey family said she died peacefully at a hospital in Scranton after a brief illness. 

"We are mourning the loss of our mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was the center of our family, and we are deeply saddened by this loss," the family said in a statement. 

Pennsylvania's current first lady, Lori Shapiro, offered her condolences in a statement. 

"Ellen was an ambassador for the Commonwealth and her beloved home of Scranton. Like Governor Casey, she made family, health, and children part of her life's work. Her work to raise awareness around breast cancer, literacy, and so much more made the lives of countless Pennsylvanians better," Lori Shapiro's statement read in part. 

The governor ordered U.S. and commonwealth flags on all state facilities, public buildings and grounds to fly at half-staff.