Michael W. DeCostanza Sr. was born April 21, 1943, in Wilmington and died on October 2, 2024, doing what he loved—working around his home. He was 81 years old.
Mike was a devoted husband, father, brother, grandfather, uncle, neighbor and friend. He prioritized his lifetime of connections with others above all else. Mike’s family came first, and after that, he always had the time and inclination to help those who asked for assistance, whatever its nature. His innate ability to “figure things out” was not limited to his chosen life vocation in auto technology. Over the years, it was not unusual to see Mike pulling out a family member’s shrub with his tow truck’s winch, staining a neighbor’s deck or removing tile from a friend’s kitchen floor. When it came to lending a hand, Mike never drew a line in the sand for any reason. If someone asked him to help their friend, that person became Mike’s friend (and that happened often). All of these encounters happened after working in his auto repair shop for 60 hours a week. Mike’s capacity for work was unsurpassed and he never once sought affirmation or recognition for the important role he played in the lives of others.
Mike, a child of the Baby Boom, grew up at the top of Penny Hill next to the Delaware State Trooper barracks. He was a graduate of Salesianum, and often pointed out that his class was the first to begin and complete their high school career at 18th and Broom. Mike graduated from Spring Garden Institute where he studied automotive technology specializing in automatic transmissions, the innovation of the time. His first car was a 1956 Ford that he modified with three 2-barrel carburetors known as “Trips,” which Mike’s father referred to as “Triple Trouble”. Sal, an older cousin, was known to have occasionally swapped cars with Mike. Sal raced “Triple Trouble,” while Mike entertained girls in Sal’s flashier, but slower, Chevy convertible. It wasn’t the muscle of the “Trips” that attracted Shirley Ann Strazzella, it was the magic of that borrowed convertible that they took on their first date. It was the first many rides during their 60 years of marriage.
Mike’s work career started out humbly as a production worker for Electric Hose & Rubber. But there was just something about cars. They called Mike into his life’s work, and in the early 1960’s, he took over an Atlantic station at Foulk & Murphy Roads, as one of the youngest owner/operators in the ARCO system. “Mike’s Atlantic” was his first experience in entrepreneurship, a trait that he learned from his father, Mike, and passed on to his daughter, Lisa. In 1967, two brothers recruited him to buy their very successful and well-known Gulf station and towing business in Claymont. Mike saw the opportunity and with the help of his father, the transaction with Joe & Tony Vassolotti turned the opportunity into a reality. In 1970, Mike founded Joe & Tony’s Service, Inc., and shortly thereafter, Mike’s brother John came into the business. Together, they owned and operated Joe & Tony’s until 2019, and were presumed to be Joe & Tony many, many times. Mike’s work ethic and capacity for getting things done suited him well for self-employment, and he worked day and night as a technician and after-hours tow truck driver. Mike was a founding member of the Delaware Towing Association and continued membership until the 1980s when the company stopped the towing service.
Mike is preceded in death by his parents Michael J. and Mary C. DeCostanza from whom Mike inherited so much of his giving nature and drive.
Mike is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Shirley A. Strazzella DeCostanza, his children Michael W., Jr. (Anita), Lisa A. Burke (Tom), and Joseph A. (John Scott), a brother John J. (Marie), grandchildren Danielle Greenberg (Harry), Michael W. DeCostanza III (Alexis), Anthony and Luca DeCostanza, Tommy and Tyler Burke, numerous nieces and nephews, and his lifelong best friend John Teoli (Barbara). The two couples - Mike and Shirley, John and Barbara - set their sights on warmer places in their later lives often cruising the Caribbean or lounging poolside at the home of Mike’s sons, Joseph and John. Countless friends, neighbors and associates whom Mike helped through the years will carry the memory of his kindness and care for the rest of their lives.
The DeCostanza children all worked at Joe & Tony’s during their coming-of-age years, either pumping gas, cashiering, or wrenching. Tales of the clientele often became the subject of holiday or Sunday dinner conversations. Mike and John would preside over a home-cooked meal, more than one mention of their customer’s cars, and the sensational and sometimes strange happenings at 3209 Philadelphia Pike.
Mike was an avid Phillies and Eagles fan and thus suffered through the typical roller coaster that goes with Philadelphia fandom. For many years, Mike’s winter adventures included snowmobiling in Potter County, PA. Summer vacations were spent in Wildwood, New Jersey. Mike and friends, John Teoli and Tom Episcopo, brought Napa to North Wilmington by pressing and bottling wine in Mike’s self-built cellar – shared at every family wedding and gathering of friends. So much joy!
After retiring, his son, Mike Jr., helped him acquire a 1955 Ford Crown Victoria dressed in baby blue and white. Together they restored her glory. Reminiscent of that ‘56 Ford, Mike drove his granddaughter to the church on her wedding day drawing together family, passion and purpose. His family knows that he is still enjoying a sunset ride in his beloved Crown Vic and smiling with the satisfaction of having done some good for someone else.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, October 9 from 10:00am-11:45am at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 4701 Weldin Road, Wilmington, DE where a Mass of Christian Burial will follow promptly at 12 noon. Inurnment will be at Cathedral Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the American Heart Association (https://www.heart.org/).
For online condolences visit: www.mccreryandharra.com
