Robert M. Costello

Robert M. Costello, 86, Elizabethtown, died peacefully Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Kensington Center. He was predeceased by his wife of 47 years, the former Anne E. Dempsey.

Born on Feb. 11, 1940, he was a son of the late Peter F. and Catherine Meehan Costello of Scranton Pennsylvania. He was a 1958 graduate of Girard College in Philadelphia, where he excelled in writing and music, both of which became lifetime pursuits.

He was awarded a scholarship to the University of Scranton, graduating in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science in English. Bob played both the acoustic string bass and electric bass in local bands, while working his way through college.

An Army veteran, he served generals in the Secretary General Staff at I Corps in Uijeongbu, Korea, and in Heidelberg, Germany, from 1963 to 1966. Upon discharge, he became a reporter and editorial assistant for the Catholic Light, where he met his future wife. Later he became press secretary to the late Scranton Mayor James J. Walsh and public relations director for the Scranton Redevelopment Authority.

Following a stint as a reporter for the Scranton Times, he was named deputy press secretary to Pennsylvania Governor Milton J. Shapp. He later served as press secretary to state health secretary and as public information director for the PennsylvaniaTurnpike. He handled media relations for the White House Conference on Families, the Cuban Exile Program at Fort Indiantown Gap and did weekly political briefs for the Carter White House.

Returning to Scranton, Bob was appointed as public relations director for Mercy Hospital, where he served for almost 20 years. Bob's non-stop work ethic revolved around Motorola pagers and beepers long before cell phones and 24-hour news cycles became ubiquitous.

He was a man of quiet faith who was most content when walking around Lake Scranton on a sunny day, listening to jazz. Bob loved all things Irish and reveled in his multiple trips to Ireland with daughter, Colleen. He had a quick sense of humor and loved in equal portions his privacy and his family and close friends.

Bob settled into his new home in Kentucky in 2016 to be close to daughter, Ellen, and son-in-law, Matt, loving the warmer weather and friendly new neighbors, including those he found at the American Legion Hardin Post No. 113 in Elizabethtown.

Survivors include two daughters, Colleen and fiancé William Brown, of Cambridge, Massachusettes, and Ellen and husband, Matthew Nystedt, of Elizabethtown; a brother, Peter, Moscow; a sister, Mary Kay Schatzman of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and many cousins, nephews and nieces.

Also surviving are two brothers-in-law, Thomas Dempsey and wife, Vicki, of Oak Island, North Carolina, and William Dempsey and wife, Nancy, of Bow, New Hampshire. He was preceded in death by sister-in-law Helen Carson Costello; sister-in-law Ellen Dempsey; brother-in-law Brian P. Dempsey; brother-in-law John Schatzman; son-in-law Vincent DePaul McGraw; and niece Kathleen Dempsey.

A Mass of Christian burial and a cemetery service at St. Catherine's in Moscow will be arranged by the Albert O'Donnell Funeral Home in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, at the convenience of the family.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Girard College Foundation, 2101 S. College Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19121, via girardcollege.edu, girardcollege.edu/, or American Legion Hardin Post No. 113, Elizabethtown, KY.