Submitted by: Dan Rich

James Lowry Costin

Sept. 16, 1929 - Oct. 16, 2000

South Bend Tribune 10/18/2000

James Lowry Costin, 71, was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., on Sept. 16, 1929, and died in the Sunbridge Nursing Facility, Elkhart, Ind., on Monday, Oct. 16. He was the son of James Michael Costin, a native of Peru, Ind, and Jane Catherine Lowry, originally of Punxatawney, Pa.

In 1934 the family moved to South Bend, Ind., where James attended Holy Cross Grade School and Central Catholic High School. He spent one year in the U.S. Army and then moved to Fort Wayne, Ind., to become part of the sports staff of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. At various times he also wrote a sports column for Today's Catholic.

In 1955 he married Anita Rose Uhfeil of Huntington, Ind. They were active members of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fort Wayne. Mr. Costin also retained many ties to South Bend. He regularly covered Notre Dame football and basketball for the News-Sentinel, including the annual Notre Dame-Purdue football game, whether played in South Bend or Lafayette.

On one occasion he was assigned to cover the Indianapolis 500. He chose general seating instead of the press box so he could take his five-year-old son along. Early in the race, a serious crash occurred just in front of them. He took his son and left, and wrote a story about why he couldn't write a story, which his paper ran above the nameplate on the front page. He was part of the News-Sentinel staff in 1983 when all departments, including sports, were called off their assignments to help cover a devastating flood which engulfed much of the city; so he shared in the paper's glory at winning the Pulitzer Prize for general reporting that year. Mr. Costin spent several years as a volunteer coach of baseball and basketball. He won numerous awards for his coverage of Indiana high school sports and other matters. He was a fine golfer, and often served as a partner to local or state celebrities in golf tournaments. In 1990 he received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from the Indiana Institute of Technology.

Mr. Costin is survived by his wife, Anita; son, Michael Costin, and daughter-in-law, Marianne of Granger; daughter, Barbara Geller and son-in-law, Thomas of Schaumberg, Ill.; two sisters, Sister M. Georgia, C.S.C., of Saint Mary's, Notre Dame, and Mina Costin of South Bend; and by six grandchildren.

Visitors may call between 2 and 4 and between 6 and 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19, in the Palmer Funeral Home, 2528 Mishawaka Avenue, South Bend. The Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 20, in the new chapel at Little Flower Catholic Church on Ironwood Road.