BRUCE WAYNE COSTELLO

SALISBURY — Bruce Wayne Costello, 72, passed away peacefully Jan. 25, 2026, surrounded by family after a long battle with cancer. Bruce was born in Middlebury, Vt., July 27, 1953, the son of Leo and Theda (Myrick) Costello.

Bruce is survived by his wife, Valerie (Dayton) of 29 years; daughters Andrea Costello of Weymouth, Mass., and Shannon Edson (Justin) of Forestdale, Vt.; sons, Adam Popp (Becky) of Crawfordville, Fla., and Paul Wildey (Lindsay) of Tallahassee Fla.; granddaughters Willa Edson, Emma Wildey, Zoey Mitchell and Briannah Carter; grandsons, Kingston Popp, Gavin Mitchell, Phoenix Popp, Mattix Popp and Paul Wildey Jr.; and great-grandson Lucas Carter-Mikell.

Bruce had 35 wonderful years with his wife, best friend, and soulmate Valerie. They were married May 24, 1997. The day his twin daughters Andrea and Shannon were born was the happiest day of his life — they were his pride and joy. He was the perfect girl dad! Bruce was also a great stepdad to Adam and Paul, and was proud to have them as his stepsons. Although he has many cousins that he was close with, his cousin Jeff Costello was more like a brother to him and probably the only person that knew Bruce better than his wife Valerie did.

Bruce was quite a character — he had the best sense of humor and many inside jokes that always made everyone laugh. He was an entertainer in many ways, but music was what he did best. He performed on hundreds of stages over an almost 60-year career as a musician, playing keyboards for many bands at all the popular clubs in Vermont and along the eastern seacoast from Maine to Atlantic City. When playing with the band Katonah in the 80s, he opened for the Doobie Brothers, Foghat, The Association, the Joe Perry Project (Aerosmith’s guitar player), and Peter Tork of the Monkees. Bruce was well known throughout Vermont and New England for his Hammond B3 organ sound.

When not playing music, you would find Bruce on the golf course making several side bets on who would take the hole, the match, or the game. It didn’t matter how much money he lost in golf, he would win it back from his golf buddies during the winter months shooting pool!

Bruce was predeceased by his father, Leo; mother, Theda; and brother Michael.

A chapel service will be held at 1 p.m., Friday, Feb. 6, at Middlebury Chapel (formerly Mead Chapel) on the Middlebury College campus with a reception to follow at the Middlebury American Legion Post 27, where he was a proud and active member of the S.A.L. for over 30 years.

Online condolences may be made at www.sandersonfuneralservice.com. ◊