Henry's obituary...
Henry Costanzo, 96, passed away peacefully on September 16, 2021, with his daughter Maria at his side. He was the fifth of six children born to an Italian immigrant family from Noto, Sicily, in a coal-mining company town in Alabama. His family placed a high value on education: each sibling in turn pursued higher education and then helped the next sibling to attend college. After a three-year stint on the Quartermaster Board at Ft. Lee, VA, during World War II, Henry took advantage of the GI bill to attend Columbia University, where he earned a Master’s degree in Economics and International Finance. At age 23 he accepted a post in Rome with the U.S. Treasury to work on the Marshall Plan. This was the beginning of a long career in international economic development. In 1953 he was sent to Seoul, Korea as a U.S. Treasury attache to help rebuild Korea’s economy after the war. There he met and married his wife Maxine, the love of his life. They settled in Washington, D.C., where their daughters were born and where Henry had positions with the U.S. Treasury, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Henry traveled the world for his work, often bringing his family along, and they lived in Seoul, Korea for several years while he worked for the Agency for International Development. He was an enthusiastic traveler, keeping a globe studded with push-pins and thread to mark his journeys.
In retirement, Henry and Maxine moved to Alabama but made frequent trips to Ithaca once their grandsons Eli and Gabe were born there. They were doting and involved grandparents, always ready to play silly card games or ride on the Stewart Park carousel, and they introduced their young grandsons to the joys of travel, bringing them to Henry’s ancestral home in Sicily among other destinations.
Henry and Maxine moved to Ithaca shortly before Maxine died in 2002, and after her death he became a regular at many of Ithaca’s haunts: the Mahogany Grill, the Ale House, the Creeker, and others. Nursing one beer, he would sit at the bar and expound upon the stock market, his travels, and many other topics. He made lasting and loyal friends during this time, including his close friend Justin DeLaney.
In 2014 Henry moved to Kendal at Ithaca. In his later years he developed close and affectionate relationships with his now-adult grandsons. Eli and Gabe were a delight and a comfort to him in his last years, and he would brag about them to whoever would listen. He passed along his stock market wisdom to them, and never missed an opportunity to tease them. At Kendal, he lived exactly as he chose, spending his days at the computer with a cigarette at his side. He was greatly helped in his last years by his patient and kind caregiver, Joshua Richards.
In addition to his wife, Henry was predeceased by his beloved daughter, Luisa Costanzo-Platt. He is survived by his daughter Maria Costanzo (Ben Alexander), grandsons Eli Fox (Sage Hellerstedt) and Gabe Fox, and many loving nieces, nephews, and friends. Calling hours are 5-7 PM on Saturday, September 18 at Bangs Funeral Home, with a prayer service at 7 PM.
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