Paul D. Costello, 63

Paul D. Costello, 63, of Meadview, Arizona, formerly of Woburn, passed away on December 19, 2011 after a short illness.

Born in Winchester, Massachusetts on April 28, 1947, he was the son of the late Harold J. “Sonny” Costello, and the late Kathleen E. (Harron) Costello. Paul grew up in Woburn, and was a graduate of Woburn High School with the Class of 1965.

In 1967, Paul joined the United States Air Force, which proved to be his career for the next 22 years. A Vietnam War Veteran, he was awarded a total of 13 medals during his career. After many years of honorable service, Paul retired from the Air Force as a Master Sergeant in 1989.

Following his retirement from the Air Force, Paul obtained employment as a civil service employee with the State of Arizona.  In his job, he traveled the length and breadth of the State of Arizona. In 1997, Paul was awarded the Governor’s Excellence Award as one of the top state employees of the year. After a successful second career with state government, Paul again retired.

Since his early life, Paul was a traveler. One of his first journeys was with his family to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida when he was just nine years old. The Air Force whetted Paul’s thirst for more adventure travel, and gave him an infectious curiosity and passion for world exploration. At the time of his death, Paul had traveled to 47 countries on six of the seven continents; the equivalent of five or six trips around the Earth.

One of Paul’s many interests was photography. He enjoyed taking pictures of many subjects, including people and their culture, wildlife, the wilderness, the towns and cities and their forts, castles and places of worship, festivals, the beaches, and sunsets and sunrises. He especially enjoyed photographing the many beautiful women of the world who he met on his many travels.

Paul was an accomplished powerboat operator, and owned a couple of 20-22 foot boats over the years. He was certified by the U.S. Coast Guard Boat Handlers Seamanship and Navigation Courses. He would use his boats in pursuit of his other seaborne hobbies, scuba diving and deep sea fishing.

Paul was a PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) Certified Rescue Diver, diving mostly in the South Pacific Ocean throughout Asia, as well as many other dives in the Caribbean and the Sea of Cortez in Mexico.

Paul also enjoyed gun collecting, target shooting, United States and foreign coin collecting, military challenge coin
collecting, western belt buckle collecting, music and reading. He was a Life Member of VFW Post 11014 in Meadview, Arizona, where he also served as Quartermaster and was elected Junior Vice-Commander. Paul was also a Life Member of the American Legion Post 103 in Meadview, and a Life Member of DAV Chapter 8 in Mesa, Arizona.

Paul was an avid Red Sox and Patriots fan. No matter where he traveled or lived in the world, Paul always considered himself a Woburnite, maintaining life-long ties with his many friends in Woburn. As Paul would often say: “Your journey through life should be a glorious adventure.”

In addition to his parents, Paul is preceded in death by his brother, the late William Costello. He will surely be missed by his large and loving family. He is survived by three sisters, Linda DeVito and her husband Michael of Tewksbury, Kathleen Tighe of Billerica, and Joan Costello of Lawrence; two brothers, Robert Costello of Woburn, and James Costello of Providence, RI. He is also survived by his nieces, Elizabeth, Lauren, Lisa, and Michelle; and nephews, Michael, Derek, and James; many cousins, and his many life-long friends in Woburn and world-wide.

A graveside service with Military Honors will be held at the Woodbrook Cemetery, 100 Salem St., Woburn on Monday, January 9 at 11:00 am. Arrangements by the
Graham Funeral Home, Woburn.