Michael Kostur, 83

Michael Joseph Kostur, Jr. died at Kootenai Health Hospital on July 29, 2024, where he was being treated for several very serious health issues. He had been ill for most of the last two years. He has been at Silver Ridge Care and Rehabilitation for the last six months.

Michael was born May 29, 1941, in Denver, Colo. He was the eldest of three boys to parents Michael Joseph and Lucille (Parachini) Kostur. Through his youth, they lived in both small towns and in Denver. He left school and joined the Marines at 17 years of age.

At the end of his first tour in the Marines, he worked at several jobs, among them at Public Service Electric Company of Colorado and driving 18-wheeler trucks until rejoining the Marines in 1961. During the next seven years, he served two tours in Vietnam. Sgt. Kostur left the Marines in 1969 with an Honorable Discharge and a physical disability. He earned The National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal w/3*, Combat Action Ribbon and the Good Conduct Medal.

Michael met Phyllis Hassell in Skykomish, Wash., where he was working on a chain truck putting chains on vehicles going over snowy Stevens Pass, and Phyllis was working at her uncle’s 24-hour restaurant. They married Oct. 2, 1971, in Monroe, Wash., and lived in Skykomish until purchasing their first home in Marysville, Wash. Their only child, son Michael, now (Laeorra), was born Jan. 18, 1974, in Monroe, Wash. When living in Marysville, Mike attended Everett Community College, earning his Associate Degree in General Studies and Welding while working full time driving trucks. They moved to Bremerton, Wash., in 1976, where Michael was a welder at Puget Sound Naval Ship Yard until he retired with a partial disability. After that, he worked retail at Eagle Hardware and Home Depot until undergoing hip replacement, which kept dislocating and could no longer work.

They moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in 2002 to be close to Phyllis’ family. Michael was a member of the Disabled American Veterans for 53 years. He joined the local Disabled American Veterans Fort Sherman No. 9 Chapter, where he served on the State DAV finance committee for many years. He was a member of the Marine Corps League Pappy Boyinton Detachment 966 and liked working the Coffee Wagon and Toys for Tots for many years. He was Marine Corps League Department of Idaho Marine of the Year in 2006. He belonged to the MCL Military Order of Devil Dogs and enjoyed attending six MCL National conventions.

Michael loved the Northwest and Alaska and took every opportunity to work or volunteer there. Michael and Phyllis enjoyed camping through the years. He volunteered as a camp host at Olympic National Park in Washington, at the overflow campground on the ocean. Also, at Juneau, Alaska, campground, and Byers Lake State Park, Alaska. Michael and Phyllis volunteered every February/March in Fairbanks, Alaska, at the World Ice Art Competition for 13 years. Michael drove a van and Phyllis worked in the dining room. Michael and Phyllis enjoyed camping in their fifth-wheel trailer. He was a member of the Hayden Elks, and he especially enjoyed trips with the Hayden Elks Camper Club members.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Michael Joseph Kostur, Sr. and Lucille Kostur (Parachini), his younger brother, William, and father and mother-in-law Barrett and Beatrice Hassell. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Phyllis Kostur; only child Laeorra Kostur and her wife, Sara, brother Charles and his wife, Diane, nieces Michelle Watts and Kaye Swires and their children, sister-in-law Nancy James, sister-in-law Barri Joe Bibeau and husband John and their children, brother-in-law John Hassell and wife Terry.

The family wishes to sincerely thank the members of Pappy Boyington Marine Corps League No. 966 and members of the Disabled American Veteran Fort Sherman No. 9 for all you have done for Michael and us.

A Funeral Mass is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 13, at 9 a.m. at St. Pius X Catholic Church, with a burial to follow at Coeur d'Alene Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Toys for Tots, P.O. Box 1872, Hayden, ID 83835, or Newby-ginnings of North Idaho, 570 Clearwater Loop A, Post Falls, ID 83854. To engage in Michael's online tribute, please visit www.englishfuneralchapel.com.