Lenore Costello

BIOGRAPHY

Lenore Costello was born in Sycamore, Ohio, USA, on 12 November 1916. She was the third of five daughters born to parents parents Harrison W. W. Van Gundia (1888–1966) and Nessie L. Alford (1891–1980). She had four sisters: Jane Barton (1913–1973), Elizabeth “Betty” Curlis (1914–1968), Minette Hull (1918–2026), and Billie Jean Kuenzli (1923–2020). She was born in the same room where her grandfather had been born, in Sycamore.

With no sons in the family, her father relied on his daughters to help with the chores on the 120-acre farm, including shucking wheat, husking corn, and making hay. The family kept 12 Jersey cows, and before school, she rode a horse named Prince to deliver milk to neighbors, helping earn money for the family. Her father also maintained two gardens: one for the family and another for needy residents, who were welcome to pick whatever they needed.

She earned a one-year scholarship to Heidelberg University, where she studied sociology and biology. To cover her expenses, she also participated in a youth work program. At the university, she became known as “Gundy,” a nickname she would carry throughout her life. Soon after graduating, she secured a position as executive director of the American Red Cross in Wyandot County, Ohio. In that role, she met her future husband, George Costello, who was a member of the organization’s national staff.

Before the United States entered World War II, the Red Cross sent George to the Philippines for six months to establish civil defense units. On his return voyage by ship, he passed through Pearl Harbor on 6 December 1941, just one day before the Japanese surprise attack. He arrived in San Francisco on 9 December. George was later sent to the Philippines for a second deployment, this time for 15 months, to assist with the reconstruction of the Red Cross organization there. Meanwhile, with the country at war, she stepped up activities at her local Red Cross unit. Among other efforts, she and other women knitted surgical dressings and bathrobes for donation to veterans’ hospitals.

George and Gundy married on 19 December 1942. After George’s return, the couple left Winter Haven and moved into a house in Lake Alfred. They had no children. George later served as Lake Alfred’s city manager for eight years. In 1948, she was selected as one of a dozen background swimmers for the Esther Williams film On an Island with You, which was filmed at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven.

Winter Haven High School recruited her to fill in for a biology teacher who had joined the military. She continued working as a substitute teacher for five years before embarking on what she considered her “real” career. In 1951, the president of the Lake Ridge Girl Scout Council asked her to serve as temporary executive director while the organization searched for a permanent leader. Although she had not participated in Girl Scouts as a child, she accepted the position and ultimately led the organization for 25 years, retiring on 1 October 1976.

For more than a decade, she and her husband regularly led coeducational groups of local teenagers on six-week camping trips throughout Europe. She also frequently accompanied Girl Scout groups on four-day backpacking excursions along the Appalachian Trail in Maine. On another occasion, she took groups of girls to the British West Indies to teach swimming to local residents. She served for many years as president of the Florida chapter of the American Camping Association, a role that took her to Puerto Rico and Switzerland to inspect camps.

Following George’s death in 1997, she remained as active as ever. Having hiked portions of the Appalachian Trail on numerous occasions, she went on to climb Mount Le Conte in Tennessee at the age of 90. On her 100th birthday, she celebrated by paddling a canoe around Lake Elbert in Winter Haven.

RECOGNITION

Her age has not been validated.

GALLERY

RELATED PROFILES

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