Dominic Costanzo's Life & Times 1936-2020
Dominic Costanzo was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the fifth child and third son of Italian Immigrants, Marco & Nancy (Annunziata di Siena) Costanzo. He was much younger than his siblings and they had a hand in raising the young man after his father passed away when Dominic was only 2 years old.
In High School, Dominic excelled in Cross Country racing and went to the Ohio State Tournament in both his junior and senior years.
He married the love of his life, Louise Karpen, in 1957. They were married for 62 years when she preceded him to meet the Lord in January, 2019. They settled in Cincinnati, OH in 1959, after Dominic graduated from Miami University (Oxford, OH).
Right out of college, Dominic was hired by the newly-formed Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, a spin-off of the Ohio Farm Bureau. This relationship lasted Dominic’s entire adult life. He started as an agent, moved to management for 30 years, and back to agent. He remained an active agent until his passing.
Dominic and Louise were blessed with 2 children: Dino and Tina. They chose to raise them in Terrace Park, where they purchased a home on two acres. This afforded Dominic the ability to have a small garden, where he grew tomatoes, peppers and garlic. This was a passion he had developed when he spent his childhood summers on his sister’s farm in North Ridgeville, Ohio.
Dominic was an avid outdoors enthusiast. He loved fishing and hunting, spending his time off fishing ponds and streams with his long-time college friend, Larry Reece. He took many trout-fishing expeditions to Michigan and Pennsylvania with his father-in-law, Kurt Karpen. While his main hunting passion were woodcock, he hunted quail and grouse in Southern Ohio from the 1960’s through the 1990’s, accompanied by one of the many dogs he had throughout his life. When Christy, his last hunting dog, passed away in the late 90’s, Dominic was done losing his faithful companions and his interest in hunting began to wane. As Dominic told us all – He had reached his lifetime limit.
During the 80’s and 90’s, Dominic became active in the Sycamore Pheasant Club and a new passion was born – Shooting clay targets! He began shooting registered skeet targets at the Milford Gun Club and spent increasing amounts of time becoming a better shot. He also became a permanent fixture of MGC. All that time and practice paid off, as Dominic would make the All-Ohio NSSA Skeet Veteran team for 10 consecutive years. He continued to be a master of the Winchester 42 .410 in shooting Wobble Skeet up until his last breath.
But in the end, his two major loves would dominate his later years: Winning souls for Christ and caring for his wife, Louise. Dominic became a believer later in life than most, always knowing there was something more out there, but never taking Eternity seriously. This changed when, at 50 years old, he listened to a cassette version of the Bible. Within in 10 years, Dominic and Louise had a House Church
group of 30+ individuals. Louise prepared the food and opened her house to the people who came to hear Dominic teach on Scripture.
In 1998, Dominic had a yearning to help with African Mission Work. But he also prayed the Lord would let him stay at his home in Terrace Park, continuing to tend his backyard tomato farm and shooting skeet at the Milford Gun Club. He never liked traveling far from his home, especially as he got older, but would have willingly followed his Savior’s calling, wherever it might lead. Our Lord, who has a way of working things out for his Glory and our benefit, brought together 4 men at a Promise Keepers church picnic in the summer of 1998. Also attending the picnic was a young Maasai man named Daniel Osoi who was attending a summer evangelistic workshop.
Dominic was at the event in full fishing gear, helping picnickers catch bluegills in the pond. Daniel, who as a Maasai originated in the arid desert region of Kenya & Tanzania where fishing is nearly non-existent, caught his first ever fish, a bluegill with Dominic’s assistance. This formed a nearly instantaneous bond between the two men. This bond expanded and strengthened with the assistance of Dominic’s newfound Christian Brothers, Bill Van Fleet & Ken Yockey, eventually becoming Resourcing Ministry Partners Inc. This 501(3)c nonprofit organization now has the purpose of Christian Evangelism and supports outreach to the Indigenous groups of people worldwide.
For the past 20 years, the main objective of RMP has been reaching the Maasai in Africa for Christ. Daniel has led this call, establishing over 100 churches, countless schools, eco farms, wells, and now a Children’s outreach including a children’s home. Bill & Ken have made several treks to the region, with Dominic remaining at home, fundraising, and taking care of the administrative work. God brought Africa to Dom’s favorite place, Home!
Dom’s grandson and namesake, Dominic (Nic) moved next door after he married, bringing a new family to the mini farm. With his grandfather, Nic helped tend the mini farm, went to the Milford Gun Club and spent evenings together, watching baseball and smoking cigars. Dominic had loved watching Nic play college baseball and this time together was a blessing for both of them and cemented the feeling of home.
And home was where Dominic would find his last calling. He was the primary caregiver for his beloved wife, Louise as she began the slow slide into dementia. Louise, like her husband, never wished to stray far from their little farm and Dominic cared for her at home, with love and diligence, day and night. For seven years, she only spent 1 day away from their little family estate, her final day spent at Hospice. Until the end, she was joyful, spending her life with her beloved husband. United once more, they have completed their mission on Earth and are in the Lord’s presence.
Dominic was peacefully called to his final home on January 4, 2020. He is greatly missed but his life missions are carried on by his family .