Obituary for Celestine Costello, OSU

Sr. Celestine Costello, a beloved member of the Ursuline Community, died peacefully on October 19, 2019 at Andrus-on-Hudson, Hastings, NY.

Sr. Celestine was born in Peekskill, NY to Teresa and Raymond Costello in 1934.  Her parents, her brothers, Raymond and Msgr. Lawrence Costello, and her sister, Dolores Carlin, predeceased her. She is survived by two sisters: Regina Morini and Maureen Durkin and a brother, Joseph.

She entered the Ursulines shortly after graduating from the College of New Rochelle in 1956. She later earned an MA in Education and an MS in Library Science from the Catholic University of America.

Sr. Celestine had a 40 year ministry as an educator. She served as a librarian at the College of New Rochelle, and as the founding principal of Our Lady of the Woods Academy in Bethesda, MD. She taught at the Bethesda Ursuline Academy lower school and high school, at the Wilmington (DE) Ursuline Academy and at the Ursuline School in New Rochelle.

A wake will be held at the Ursuline Province Center, New Rochelle, NY on Tuesday, October 22, 3:00-5:00 pm with a prayer service at 4:00pm. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the Province Center on Wednesday, October 23 at 10:00am at 1338 North Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 10804. Burial will be in St. Lawrence O’Toole Cemetery, Brewster, NY.

In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Ursuline Sisters Retirement Fund at the Ursuline Provincialate, 1338 North Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 10804.