Charles Costello

Charles Delmas Costello was born September 11, 1916 to William Rudolph and Olie Ethel Gee Costello. The third of four sons, Delmas, as he was called in his youth, lived with his family on a farm near Imogene, IA, where he learned to farm with horse-drawn equipment. He attended Strahan School, the first consolidated school in the area, where he graduated in 1934. He attended Tabor College in Tabor, IA and Iowa State College in Ames, before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Force in 1941. By the time he was honorably discharged in 1946, he had achieved the rank of Warrant Officer.

Charles married Harriet Ruth Talbott on August 8, 1943 at the First Presbyterian Church in Malvern. After returning from the service in 1946, he took over the insurance business formerly run by his father-in-law, Lawrence Talbott. This proved to be a successful venture for Charles until his retirement in 1981, when he sold the business to his son, Bill.

Charlie was always a vital part of this community, including serving as Service Officer for the American Legion Harry Hammons Post 520, all chairs and Master of the Silver Urn Masonic Lodge, Trustee for the Malvern Public Library Board, Secretary/Treasurer for the Fairview Country Club, volunteer for the Malvern Fire Department, Secretary/Treasurer for the Malvern Development Corporation, Cubmaster for the Malvern Boy Scouts, active member of the Malvern Commercial Club, and member of the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches. He was co-founder and head of the Malvern Goodfellows for 25 years. For over 40 years, Charlie was in charge of putting up the flags on veterans' graves at the cemetery every Memorial Day. During the 1950's, he organized Fire Prevention Week and gave talks to the classes of students at Chantry Elementary School. In 1978, he was awarded the Citizen of the Year Award from the Malvern Commercial Club.

Since his retirement, Charlie remained active with his family and many wonderful friends. He was an avid golfer and loved spending time playing "a round" or riding his cart with his golfing buddies. He was an integral part of the Malvern Senior Center Meal Site, delivering meals to shut-ins for over 7 years, and heading a fund drive to put a new roof on the building. After an eight-month illness, Charlie passed away June 19 at the Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs at the age of 85 years, 9 months, and 8 days.

Charlie was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, and brothers Ralph Costello and Colonel Darrell Costello. Charlie is survived by his son Bill Costello of Malvern; daughter Jan Franck and son-in-law Greg Franck of Ankeny, IA; daughter Mary Beth Costello of Ankeny, IA; grandsons Wade Franck of Ankeny, IA and Travis Franck of San Jose, CA; brother Lynn Costello and sister-in-law Marcella of Imogene, IA; sisters-in-law Elaine Costello of Randolph, IA and Elizabeth Costello of Ft. Lauderdale, FL; nieces and nephews; other relatives and friends.