Former Sun Publisher Jack Costello dies

At the Nov. 9, 2011 Enterprise Bank Celebration of Excellence at Lowell Memorial Auditorium, from left, are Brenda Costello, Jack Costello, Charlotte LaPierre, Kendall Wallace and Mark O'Neil. (Sun file photo/Tory Germann)

From left, John H. "Jack" Costello Jr. of Tyngsboro, Ann Cunha of Lowell, and Tom McKay of Salisbury, are the recipients of Lowell Catholic High School's Bishop John R. McNamara Awards on April 9, 2013. (Sun file photo/Julia Malakie)

From left, Sun Santa Honorary Chairman John Thibault of Chelmsford, Coordinator Nancy Roberts of Westminster and founder Jack Costello of Newburyport at Steve Panagiotakos' annual Sun Santa Party on Dec. 6, 2019. (Sun file photo/Dacey Zouzas)

At the April 20, 2010 dedication ceremony for the permanent exhibit at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, honoring the late Paul Tsongas, here Jack Costello, Marty Meehan and Niki Tsongas stand by the old Arena sign that Costello created. (Sun file photo/David Brow)

Jack Costello speaks at the April 20, 2010 dedication ceremony for the permanent exhibit at the Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell, honoring the late Paul Tsongas. (Sun file photo/David Brow)

LOWELL — The city of Lowell has lost a good citizen who was a major force in the revitalization of the community. John H. Costello Jr. (Jack) died Monday. Jack was the last member of the newspaper family who founded The Sun to hold the title of publisher before the newspaper was sold to MediaNews Group.

I had the privilege of working with Jack for more than 40 years and quickly learned he was a good and decent guy who cared about his family, his community, and his newspaper.

In some ways, he was a shy guy who never wanted to be the guy up front but wanted to make sure that things were done right.

He was a strong advocate for every positive project in the Lowell region, proud of his family and the newspaper’s role in revitalizing the community. His great-grandfather, John H. Harrington, was the original chairman of the Lowell Memorial Auditorium and Jack also held that title for many years and supervised the restoration of the building that has been a center of entertainment in the region for years.

He was also proud of his work on the Lowell Arena and baseball park. But his first love was the newspaper. Like the building projects, he wanted a quality newspaper. He had a talent for design and insisted that The Sun be easy to read for everyone. He was the first advocate for switching the newspaper from an evening paper to a morning paper.

Jack was a very spiritual man and attended Mass every day. He was a strong advocate for Sun Charities, which supported scores of community groups for years. Like his dad, he also quietly donated to people in need who were called to his attention.

He was very proud of the newspaper and the family history. He could display a bit of a temper when things didn’t go right, and he had great respect for his long-term employees and their dedication.

His father told him that owning a family newspaper is like a sacred trust. Jack Costello honored that trust. His dad would be proud.