Jane R. Costello

Jane R. Costello, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, died peacefully Aug. 15 in her Florida home following a lengthy illness. She was 79. 

Born Jane Rose Lunn in Dedham, Mass. on Jan. 7, 1940, she was the daughter of the late Mary (Roth) and Burpee L. Lunn.  As a teenager, she and her friends frequented Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. It was there, at age 17, where she met John A. Costello - better known as “Jack” - who stocked shelves at First National Stores while earning a business degree at Boston University.  The couple married in 1960, two years after she graduated from Jamaica Plain High School.

Mrs. Costello embraced her role as wife and mother, and later as grandmother and great-grandmother. She raised her five children in Billerica, Mass., and then Oak Forest, Ill, because Rotation Dynamics Corporation transferred her husband to its North American headquarters. 

With her husband traveling throughout the country and abroad until his retirement, Mrs. Costello found herself often playing the role of both parents. Empty-nested, the couple moved to Boynton Beach, Fla., in 2004. 

She seldom missed one of her children’s school or sporting events. She did not let thousands of miles keep her from a front row seat at her grandchildren’s T-Ball and softball games, karate demonstrations, chorus concerts, theatrical productions and high school and college graduations.

Mrs. Costello adored word games and on rainy days, selected a lengthy word from the dictionary and challenged her children to make as many words as they could with the letters. She especially enjoyed Scrabble and a good game of cards. Every Wednesday night for years, she hosted a ladies card game in her Massachusetts home.

Mrs. Costello made lifelong friends wherever she lived. She organized block parties, Welcome-to-the-Neighborhood parties, Christmas parties, Mardi Gras parties and parties for all of her family’s milestones. She felt fortunate to travel internationally with her husband throughout Asia, Mexico and many European destinations. She was especially keen for trips to Las Vegas with its high energy, bright lights and slot machines. 

Mrs. Costello is well known for her ability to secure the best deals on everything from toothpaste to real estate, but best known for her kindness and thoughtfulness. After settling into the family’s Illinois home, Mrs. Costello became a proud sister of Beta Sigma Phi, a sorority that supports local and international charities.

Through this sisterhood, Mrs. Costello made even more lifelong friendships while ensuring that every child in the county was fondly remembered by Santa each Christmas, and began every school year with a brand new backpack filled with school supplies. 

She continued the tradition in Florida. Mrs. Costello loved to share stories about the fun she had with the children in the cafeterias and classrooms in which she volunteered. She especially delighted in helping them emerge from budding to confident readers. 

Mrs. Costello will be lovingly remembered by her husband Jack and their five children, sons Alan, Scot, Mark and Michael, and daughter, Maureen Belt; 12 grandchildren, Alison, Ryan, Courtney, Patrick, William, John, Kristina, Nicholas, Bailey, Kelly, Grace and Kate; two great-grandchildren, Scarlett and Maxwell; four daughters-in-law Carol, Corinna, Kathleen and Crystal; a sister, Martha Cabral, and a brother, Daniel Lunn. 

She is predeceased by brothers Wilfred and Andrew Lunn and sisters Sally Phillips and Grace Lunn. 

Donations in her memory may be made to St. Jude’s Research Hospital for Children. 

A service will be held Saturday Sept. 7 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Tillman Funeral Home & Crematory, 2170 S. Military Trail, West Palm Beach. All are welcome.