Robert John Costomiris

Costomiris, Robert John Age 45 years, passed away at 5:00 AM on Thursday, April 2, 2009, at Ruth Hospice in Milwaukee, after a courageous battle with cancer. Robert is predeceased by his loving father Robert H. Costomiris. He leaves his grandmother, Marie Coskiano, his mother, Mary, his wife, Karen and two beautiful children, Zoe Marie, age 12 and Liam Robert, age 9. He is also survived by his two sisters, Susan Costomiris and Jodi Hammerle, and many close friends. Bob was born and raised in Queens, New York. He received his Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania; and, he earned his MBA with honors from the University of Chicago. The pride and joy of Bob's life were his two children, Zoe and Liam. He was active in their daily activities, and he took great joy in being the Assistant Coach of Liam's hockey team, and listened with great pride to Zoe as she played Pachelbel's Cannon on her harp. Bob was a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager for the Disciplined Value Equity team at Wells Capital Management. Prior to joining Wells Capital Management, he held the same responsibilities at Strong Capital Management, which he joined in 2001. Prior to joining Strong, he spent four years as Director of Research at Thomson Horstmann & Bryant in New Jersey and four years as Senior Investment Consultant at Hewitt Associates in Chicago, Illinois. Bob was a member of the CFA Institute and earned the right to use the CFA designation. Immediately after the merger of the Strong Funds and Wells Fargo Funds in 2005, Bob was a very visible ambassador for the new Wells Fargo Advantage Funds. He was the subject of articles in Barron's, SmartMoney, and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and his Funds were praised for steady, consistent performance in BusinessWeek and The Wall Street Journal. Bob was also a great contributor to broadcast public relations efforts, becoming a regular commentator on CNBC and Bloomberg TV. Memorial services will be held on Friday, April 10, 2009, at 10:00AM, at the First Unitarian Society of Milwaukee, 1342 N. Astor St., Milwaukee, WI 53202. Bob's family requests that donations be made to either one of the following organizations in lieu of flowers: Ruth Hospice, Robert Costomiris Memorial, 8526 W. Mill Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53225, 414-607-4710 or Interchange Food Pantry, Interchange Inc., c/o Immanuel Presbyterian Church, 1105 N. Waverly Pl., Milwaukee, WI 53202. Telephone: (414) 276-4108, E-Mail: interchangemilwauk@sbcglobal.net, Pantry Location: 130 E. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee. Northshore Funeral Services (414) 961-1812 Jody Michael Armata, director