Plan for the Future
*Click HERE to livestream the Funeral Mass on Saturday, December 14th at 10am*
Frances Ann McAward Costello passed away peacefully on December 10, 2024 in Chatham, NJ. Fran was born on August 4, 1929 to Patrick and Lucy McAward in Flushing, NY, the second of five children. She was a proud alumna of Dominican Academy and of the College of St. Elizabeth. Fran grew up in an extended and loving family where cousins were like sisters and where sisters were best friends. The cousins frequently spent time together throughout the year but especially in the summers when Fran’s father took his family to “the Country” in the Catskills—first to DeBruce, NY and, later, up the hill to Hunter Lake.
It was at Hunter Lake that Fran met and fell in love with Dick Costello, a counselor at the boys’ camp across the lake. They were practically inseparable until Dick joined the Army during the Korean War. They were married shortly after Dick returned home, not wanting to ever spend time apart again. Their loving and devoted 65-year marriage was legendary. They were a perfect match: he was the gregarious quick-witted salesperson while she held the line on managing the house. Throughout the years they shared a deep respect for each other, marked by countless laughs and happy times with friends and family, especially at bridge tables and parties. It was their deep bond that enhanced their good times together and helped them get through difficult times.
Fran and Dick raised their three children, Mary Frances, Suzanne Marie, and Richard Francis Jr. in Garden City, NY. Upon retirement they moved to Four Seasons in Lakewood, NJ.
Fran was nourished by her deep faith, by time spent with family, especially her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, by every chance she had to throw a party, by a great bridge hand, and by anything chocolate (particularly her stash of Oreos). She was always gracious, especially when making a guest feel welcome in her home or when making room at the table for one more person.Fran was a gifted teacher, beginning her career as a third-grade teacher at St. Kevin School in Flushing where she taught her students to read and write and, later, at the Katherine Gibbs School in Huntington, NY where she gave her students the skills and confidence to launch their own careers. She also taught her own children—both in words and actions—about family, friendship, marriage and faith.
Throughout her life Fran was active in her parish, first at St. Andrew Avellino Church in Flushing, then at St. Joseph Church in Garden City, NY where she taught CCD, and at Sacred Heart Church in Bay Head, NJ where she was an officer with the Rosary Society.
Fran has now been reunited with Dick, who predeceased her in 2018. She is also predeceased by her three sisters, Mary Patricia Bell, Barbara Quinn, and Sr. Nancy McAward, O.P., and by her brother, Patrick McAward Jr.. She is survived by her daughters, Mary Costello Vohden (Jeff) and Suzanne Costello Starzynski (Jim), and by her son, Richard Costello (Brenda), as well as by her five grandchildren, Brian (Brigette), Patrick (Megan), and Daniel (Kelly) Vohden, and Lucy and Micaela Costello along with her five great-grandchildren, Annie, Ruby, June, Bea and Jack.
In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate a donation to the Dominican Sisters of Peace in Columbus, Ohio “in memory of Frances McAward Costello”.
