Anne Jane Mary Costello loved her family more than anything.
And since her family loved boxing, so did she.
Costello was the wife of John D. Costello, a former boxer and boxing trainer.
After he passed away in 1990, the family wanted to honor his memory with Costello’s Gym, a nonprofit that teaches kids boxing.
That’s what made Anne, a 1947 graduate of Little Flower, happy. So with her family’s help, she helped the gym serve the community.
It was a labor of love.
“When we first started she was our president,” said Anne’s son Tim. “First couple of years, she was the boss. She was the boss until the end, but as she got older, we took over and to keep her involved, the mail was always delivered to her house. She’d ask what’s happening, are they doing things right. Always wanted to know what was happening.”
The gym is now missing its boss. Anne recently passed away after a battle with cancer. She was 93.
Anne will be forever missed by her 10 children Stephen (Betty), Miriam, Ken (Linda), Timothy (Kim), Patrick (Lori), Carolyn (the late William), Christopher, Elaine (Gary), Joseph (Brian) and Anthony, 22 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren as well as many nieces and nephews.
She loved family and she loved the community.
“She was a great mom, always there for you, No. 1 supporter for all of us,” Tim said. “Always there with a hug, tell you when you’re doing wrong and pat you on the back. If she was unhappy with you, she’d tell you, but she wanted you to be better.
“The things she loved the most were family and going to church. Church was very important to her, she went to St. Leo’s, but when she moved, she would go to St. Katherine’s. She was a Philly girl, started in Port Richmond, went to Little Flower and loved to help the community.”
Anne did a fine job raising her children, and it shows. The large family still works together to keep the gym running. It’s exactly what mom wanted.
“Everyone chips in, it’s important to all of us because it was important to our parents,” Tim said. “Our whole premise from the get go was to help the kids, get them involved in the community. We’ll teach them to fight, but get them off the street, do the right thing, be a good citizen.”
In lieu of flowers, Anne requested donations to the Jack Costello Boxing Club.
