Edward Costello
Edward Joseph Costello, 85, banker and lawyer, of Marion, died April 2, 2008.
Born April 9, 1922, on a farm southwest of Tampa, he was the son of James and Anna (Noone) Costello.
He attended Tampa grade and high schools and graduated in 1940. In the fall of 1941, he enrolled at Wichita University. He enlisted in the Army Enlisted Reserve in the summer of 1942, and was called to active duty in May 1943.
He was commissioned to the U.S. Infantry as a second lieutenant in 1944, and was assigned to the 71st Infantry Division. In January 1945, the division was shipped to the European Theater of Operations.
He returned to the U.S. in September 1946, and re-enrolled in Wichita University. In January 1947, he enrolled in Washburn University Law School and graduated in 1949 with a Juris Doctorate degree.
On Sept. 1, 1947, he married Mary Quinn at Wichita.
He began practicing law in Marion in 1949, in partnership with Braden C. Johnston.
In 1953, he took a position of managing officer of the Tampa State Bank, where he also continued to practice law. He and Mary acquired controlling interest in the bank in 1972.
Costello was a life member of the VFW, serving as commander of Post 6958 in 1951. He also was active in the American Legion, Tampa Lions Club, and Knights of Columbus. For more than 50 years, he was a member of the Marion County, Central Kansas, and Kansas Bar associations and the Kansas Bankers Association.
He was appointed by Gov. John Carlin to the Kansas State Bank Commission, where he served for six years, two and a half years as chairman. He was a lifelong member of the Democratic party and served as a delegate to the 1976 Democratic Convention in New York City.
Costello was instrumental in helping build St. Mark Catholic Church in 1951, and was an active member of the church for the remainder of his life.
He was preceded in death by a son, Kevin; parents, James and Anna Costello; and brothers, James R. and Gene Costello.
Survivors include his wife, Mary of Marion; two sons, Pat and Donna Kay of Moscow, Idaho, and Chris of Marion; four daughters, Mickey and Bill Lundy of Marion, Cathleen McNamara, Teresa and Dave Perky, and Barbara and John Loehr, all of Overland Park; four sisters, Anna Marie Bergkamp of Pretty Prairie, Rosemary Lewis of Wichita, Catherine Hajek of Tampa, and Florence Scanlan of Laguna Nigel, Calif.; and 17 grandchildren.
The rosary was recited Friday evening at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, Tampa.
The funeral Mass was celebrated Saturday morning at St. Mark Catholic Church, Marion.
Memorial funds have been established with St. Mark Parish Renovation fund, Marion Advancement Campaign, or Wichita State University Foundation.
