Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

Costello

Owen James Costello, longtime community leader and former Wilkes-Barre Area school director who served as president and CEO of Keystone State Games for more than three decades, died Saturday.

He was 69.

According to his obituary, Costello — known affectionately as Jim — moved from Elizabethtown to Wilkes-Barre in 1964 as a student, ultimately receiving a bachelor’s degree in education from what is now Wilkes-University.

Formerly executive director for the Wilkes-Barre Recreation Board, Costello went on to lead Keystone State Games Inc., a nonprofit formed in 1983 to organize statewide amateur athletic festivals.

Costello also served on the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board for 16 years.

In 2009, together with sons Brian and James, Costello created his own sports administration organization, Premier Amateur Sports, LLC, to promote amateur athletics beyond Pennsylvania.

Costello and his wife, the former Mary Ann Potichko, lived in Wilkes-Barre for many years before moving to Mountain Top, where the couple’s sons and their families also live.

For a full obituary, see Monday’s edition and timesleader.com.