MALIBU, CALIF. - Michael Wilson Casey, a professor of communication at Pepperdine University, died Oct. 22 after a battle with cancer. He was 53. “Our community lost a talented, kind, gentle and loving man,” Pepperdine President Andrew K. Benton said. “His pain is over, and for that I am glad. Our loss will be felt for a long time.”

A native of Kennett, Mo., Casey was a member of the University church in Malibu. He wrote numerous articles and books, his latest being “The Rhetoric of Sir Garfield Todd: Christian Imagination and the Dream of an African Democracy,” published this year by Baylor University Press in Texas.

He taught at Pepperdine for more than 20 years.

Survivors include his wife, Judy Jordan Casey; a son, Neil Jordan Casey; his mother, Melba Casey; a sister, Rita Casey; and two brothers, Shaun Casey and Neil Casey.