Mark Patrick Costello Jr.

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Mark Costello Obituary

LAKEWOOD, Colo. - Mark Patrick Costello Jr., 86, died unexpectedly and peacefully in his favorite chair on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Lakewood, Colo., surrounded by the pages of his latest short story, handwritten on goldenrod paper.

Mark grew up in the Midwest and was born Oct. 25, 1936, in Decatur, the son of Mark P. and Helen (Sheehy) Costello. After graduating from St. Theresa's High School in Decatur, he joined the Marines and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, where he rose to the rank of captain.

After the Marine Corps, he graduated from the University of Illinois and received his MFA from the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he would later teach. After graduating, he taught in the English Department at Wichita State University. He then returned to the University of Illinois, where he taught creative writing for more than three decades. Mark was both devoted to his students and beloved by them. Upon retirement, he was honored as emeritus professor.

A master of his craft, Mark was the author of two short story collections, "The Murphy Stories" (1973) and "Middle Murphy" (1991), University of Illinois Press. His stories have appeared in the Best American Short Stories (1969), The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction (1978), The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction (1988) and several literary magazines, among them, the Chicago Review, Epoch, Black Warrior Review, Transatlantic Review, and TriQuarterly.

Costello was the recipient of several prizes and awards during his career, including two Creative Writing Fellowships from The National Endowment for the Arts. He also held the Coal Royalty Endowed Chair in creative writing at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa.

He served as a visiting writer at a number of universities, including Dartmouth College, University of Oregon, Amherst College, University of Chicago and Northwestern University.

During the summers, Mark frequently traveled out West to write and spend time with his children. He loved the Oregon coast, hiking in the Rocky Mountains, summiting fourteeners and walking along the Rio Grande in New Mexico.

Mark was preceded in death by his sister, Mary Anne Madden.

He is survived by his children, Jennifer Ann (Milton) Ridenour of Casper, Wyo., Mary Katherine (Richard) Remington of Evergreen, Colo., Mark Patrick Costello III of Nehalem, Ore., and Ivy Anna (Michael) Rizzo of Albuquerque, N.M.; as well as eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Following retirement, Mark lived most of his life in Champaign and enjoyed running laps around West Side Park in front of his residence. Each time he jogged past the bench where he once sat with his mother, waiting for a bus to take them clothes shopping for his first teaching job, he would say, three times, "I love you, Mom, and I always will."

Mark will be missed by writers, friends and family for many years to come. We love you, Mark P. Costello, and we always will.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The News-Gazette on Jul. 16, 2023.

Memories and Condolences
for Mark Costello

8 Entries

Kate

December 15, 2023

I am so sorry to read this. My dad, Bob Best, was friends with Mark since kindergarten. He and I kept in contact since my dad´s passing until Mark moved. Sending love and prayers to the Costello family.

Lucien Kapp

August 23, 2023

In a golden summer of the early 1950s, Mark, Dan Collins, Tom Gallenbach, I, and an assortment of unmotivated young laborers rip-rapped the shoreline of Lake Decatur. A cold brew at the Villa Nova on East Wood ennobled our efforts.
Fast forward the years and celebrate Jesuit Father Dan Collins' lifelong calling to Japan, Father Gallenbach's commitment as an Air Force chaplain while I defined mediocrity in art instruction at Millikin University in Decatur.
On April 10,1991, Mark gave a reading at Millikin. He inscribed my copy of the Murphy Stories with this admonition" All Best, and with the heaviest rip-rap still in our hands".
Mark Costello carried that heaviest rip-rap onto a higher plane and crafted magic words into garlands of cohesive thought along a more splendid shore.
Lucien Kapp
Decatur, Illinois
August 23, 2023

Maryellen Langhout

August 21, 2023

There were 3 writing teachers who taught me to love writing, one in grade school, one in high school and one at the university ... who I just discovered passed away last month.

This was the U of I writing teacher who taught me to search for meaning in ordinary, everyday events through reflecting and writing about them. He believed in me as a writer and recommended me for my first writing job as a full-time reporter for the Champaign-Urbana New-Gazette.

Certain teachers' voices, i.e., their take on life, remain in your head all your life and Mark Costello's was one of those.

All 3 of them occupy rooms in my mind that I visit from time to time to again feel all the love and support i received from them, their faces and their voices still clearly seen and heard, wishing I had had the chance to tell each one how profoundly they influenced my life.

Jacquelyn Mitchard

July 24, 2023

I am one of the many writers whose life was transformed by Mark Costello. Everything I've done as an author, I owe to that semester, my only creative writing instruction, beginning when I was just 16. When I teach, I use the techniques he taught us to such great effect. I was lucky enough to have one great teacher. It was enough.

Terry Spohn

July 21, 2023

Mark was my first creative writing teacher and a friend for years after. He was smart, funny, humble, and a wonderful writer. His encouragement changed my life. I carry you in my heart, Mark. Always will.

Denise Rohde

July 19, 2023

I have so many fond memories of Mark. He called me his succubus...I had to look that one up. He was charming and a lot of fun. I know he will be missed by many. Memories are our best gift.

Debbie Ridley & Rich Nenoff

Planted Trees

Tess Costello

July 16, 2023

To the Costello kids--a memory:
What I remember most fondly of my marriage with your dad was his disarming sense of humor. One morning he returned from a run with the usual runner's high while I was still angry with him for --who knows what--and we were both aware of the tension.He said to me, "Tess, when I die, I don't want the university to build any monuments to me." He waited a very long while, as I stared at him in confusion and disbelief. Then he added, "I just want you to ask the president of the university to change the name of the Abbott Power Plant (an actual university facility) to the Abbott and Costello Power Plant." That's when I discovered that it's impossible to remain angry with someone you has just given you the gift of sustained, uncontrollable laughter.
I know you will miss him deeply.

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