Kathleen Costa

Kathleen Main Costa passed away on September 27, 2022 at her Indianapolis home, surrounded by her beloved daughters, Libby (Sanchez), Marjorie and Caroline. Kathleen was known and loved in her hometown of Indianapolis and in her other homes: Murphysboro, Ill.; Syracuse, N.Y.; and Bloomington, IN.

A graduate of North Central High School and Indiana University, Kathleen was awarded a fellowship in the Syracuse University Creative Writing M.F.A. Program, where her mentor was Tobias Wolff and one of her dear friends and classmates was the novelist Tom Perrotta.

Kathleen went on to work as a proofreader at Dix Typesetting in Syracuse, where she met her husband, Mark Costa. They eventually moved with their three daughters to Murphysboro, Ill., where Kathleen was kept busy raising children, while active in St. Andrew Catholic Church, where she met her good friend, Joan Sherwood. She also worked at Famous Barr in nearby Carbondale and as a paralegal.

Kathleen was known throughout her lifetime as a spectacular home chef who could easily prepare dinner for dozens of people. Her exceptional taste was her own, rather than a product of her upbringing. During her lean undergraduate years, it is rumored that she shoplifted vanilla bean by slipping it up her coat sleeve in order to make her own Kahlua. She was fun-loving in the extreme, laughing easily and often, and her wit was as electric as a Pikachu. She was brilliant, opinionated to a fault, but so charming no one ever objected. Kathleen moved back to Indianapolis in 2011, where she developed her talents as a fine artist and enjoyed hostessing at 3 Sisters Cafe in Broad Ripple. She also worked industriously at Indiana Legislative Services Agency. Her later Indianapolis years allowed her to enjoy the company of her dear friends Cheri Harris and Diane Hancock, and spend time with her father, Donald, and mother, Billie, prior to their passing.

Kathleen is survived by her three daughters and her three siblings, Don, Tom and Liz, as well as Libby’s husband, Jose, and their son, Oscar Alexander “Ozzie.” Ozzie was one of the great joys of Kathleen’s life. She died of pancreatic cancer, which took her swiftly. She remained optimistic and buoyant as the end approached.