Lenore “Gundy” Costello turned 110 years old Thursday, and Lake Alfred marked the milestone with a celebration.
Family, friends and public officials celebrated Costello's 110th birthday, according to a photo gallery published by The Lakeland Ledger.
A Parade for Her 109th Birthday
A parade also passed her house on Lakeview Boulevard for her 109th birthday in 2025, as detailed by Mid Florida Newspapers. Lake Alfred's city government even noted the occasion in its own records, with the city manager sharing updates and photos from Costello's 109th birthday at a November 17, 2025 city commission meeting, according to minutes posted by the City of Lake Alfred.
A Century-Plus of Stories
Costello was born in Sycamore, Ohio, on November 12, 1916, according to LongeviQuest, which chronicled her life in detail ahead of her 110th birthday. She earned a one-year scholarship to Heidelberg University, where she studied sociology and biology and picked up the nickname “Gundy,” the outlet reports. After graduating, she became executive director of the American Red Cross in Wyandot County, Ohio.
She married George Costello on December 19, 1942, LongeviQuest notes. In 1948, she was selected as one of a dozen background swimmers for the Esther Williams film On an Island with You, filmed at Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven — a Florida connection that would eventually become her home for good.
Decades With the Girl Scouts
Costello's long career with the Girl Scouts is well documented, though the record on exactly how long she served is not entirely consistent. LongeviQuest reports she led the Lake Ridge Girl Scout Council for 25 years, retiring on October 1, 1976. Mid Florida Newspapers has offered differing accounts elsewhere, describing her separately as having served as executive director of the Heart of Florida Girl Scout Council — spanning from Lake Placid to Ocala — for 40 years, and in another piece stating she retired from the Girl Scouts in 1976 after 45 years of service.
Whatever the precise tally, Costello's decades of local service have made her a recognizable figure well before this week's milestone. The Lakeland Ledger profiled her at age 107 in 2023 under the headline describing her as active and independent, and Mid Florida Newspapers has chronicled her birthdays in the years since, including a photo gallery marking her 108th birthday in 2024 that also described a parade passing her home.
This year's celebration marked Costello's 110th birthday, following parades for her 108th and 109th birthdays.
