Mary Ellen Costello, of Bethel, CT, mother of six children, entered into her Father’s Kingdom, peacefully at Danbury Hospital on June 19, 2016.  She was the wife of the late Matthew J. Costello.

She was born December 9, 1939 in Bronx, New York, to the late Mary R. Baggott.  She was the granddaughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. James Smith. Mary Ellen was proud of her Bronx roots. She spoke often of the memories of her time and friends growing up on Marion Avenue.  She graduated from Aquinas High School in the Bronx after which she attended secretarial school and worked in that capacity at Bechtel in New York City.

Mary Ellen met her husband Matt at a church dance and married in 1963 in Bronxville, NY.   They originally settled in Westchester, NY and later moved to Bethel, CT where they raised their six children.  She was a faithful parishioner of St. Mary’s Church for 47 years where she volunteered at school and church events. 

While she will be remembered as a devoted wife, grandmother, and friend to many, Mary Ellen was, at heart, a mother. She was a talented homemaker and excelled at planning and organizing family gatherings and holidays, as well as supporting her children in all their extra-curricular activities.  She also ensured that her children were raised to value their faith and education.

Mary Ellen shared a deep love of music with her husband Matt that they passed down to their children. She cherished the time spent with her family at the beach. A lover of literature and writing, once the children had grown, Mary Ellen worked at The Booklet bookstore in Bethel where she met many friends and fostered a connection to the community that lasted the rest of her life.

Mary Ellen leaves behind her children Matthew Costello, Mary Catherine Roche, Kevin Costello, Eileen Portelance, Patti Vitarelli and Steven Costello. She loved her sons and daughters-in-law – Rich Portelance, Joe Vitarelli, Aylin Costello and Julie Costello – as her own children. She reveled in the joy of spending time with her grandchildren: Dan Roche, Matthew and Grace Mary Vitarelli, Leyla and Ziya Costello, Evan Howley and Samuel, Thomas and Abigail Portelance. She also leaves behind her cousins Patricia, James, and Gregory Smith, and Gerald and John Faley, as well as her in-laws Anna and August Stellwag and Patricia B. Costello. 

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to Praxair Cancer Center at Danbury Hospital or St. Mary School in Bethel, CT.

The family will receive friends at the Bethel Funeral Home, 215 Greenwood Ave., Thursday afternoon from 2:00 to 4:00 and in the evening from 7:00 to 9:00. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mary's Church, Bethel, Friday morning at 11:00. Burial will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery, Bethel.

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