John Costin,

JOHN AUGUST COSTIN I Written by: John A. Costin III, M.D. John Costin was a product of a tough chapter in American and World history; The Great Depression and World War II. Having grown up during this time, he became a man at the age of 10 when his mother unexpectedly died in her early 30s. This left a large family of seven young boys alone with a father who worked long hours at US Steel in Lorain. Costin, being a remarkably self-sacrificing individual, quit school having attained a sixth grade education. He set off to work in order to support the family during these hard times. When the Great Depression took its toll on the men and women of Lorain, he signed up for the Civilian Conservation Corps. and was taken into the Pacific Northwest where he developed an exceptionally hard work ethic and had nearly every penny he earned sent home to his family. After a long, hard day on the jackhammer, he spent his evenings boxing and playing other sports. He was a natural athlete who enjoyed baseball and men’s volleyball. Having returned from Oregon, he ran around with a large group of guys in South Lorain and gained the nickname “Kush”. He was known at that time for his magnetic personality as well as a tough right hook. During World War II, he volunteered and enlisted in the Navy and following that he returned to Lorain and married Eva DeSantis on July 7, 1945. This 65 year marriage resulted in two sons and a small family owned and operated cleaning business. Pouring every muscle and ounce of sweat into it, his hard work ethic led to the very successful Costin Custom Cleaners. Having come from nothing, he was able to raise both sons and put them through higher education culminating in one PhD and one MD. He continued his cleaning business until 2003 when at the age of 83 he rather reluctantly retired. He passed away on March 1, 2011 in his sleep, surrounded by loved ones. He is survived by his wife, Eva, his sons Darryl and John, six grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren. During his numerous years on the job he was noted for whistling and old Nat King Cole tune called “Pretend”. The main lyric was “pretend you’re happy when you’re blue, it isn’t very hard to do.” This is a line that we could all benefit from. He practiced his Christian faith at the St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Lorain. This faith tells us that there is no need to pretend we’re happy today, but rather to be happy and celebrate the life of a great man whose body rests here, but whose spirit has gone home to eternal life. In closing, I take a line from Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation, where he wrote “we who followed this generation have lived in the midst of greatness.” Make no mistake about it; John Costin was one of the Greatest of that generation! The Costin Family will receive family and friends on Friday, March 4, 2011 from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. in the Dovin and Reber Jones Funeral & Cremation Center, 1110 Cooper Foster Park Rd., Amherst where closing prayers will be said at 9:30 a.m. followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 5, 2011 at the Church of St. Peter, 3655 Oberlin Ave., Lorain, Rev. Craig Hovanec, Pastor, will officiate. Interment will follow in Ridge Hill Memorial Park, Amherst. Twp.

John Costin,

May 4, 1919 - March 1, 2011

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John Costin,

May 4, 1919 - March 1, 2011

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

365 Days of Grief Support