“Let Me Tell You About Uncle Jack”
By Eric Lawrence Frazier, MBA
My wife is the niece of Jack Costa, who was married for 30 years to her beloved Aunt Dorothy Costa. I loved Uncle Jack. I love Aunt Dorothy. ❤️ What a beautiful couple they were—and what a powerful example of enduring love, strength, and commitment they still are to all of us. 💑💪🏽
Aunt Dorothy wasn’t just Jack’s wife—she was his rock, his best friend, and his fiercest protector. 🛡️💖 She walked with him through joy and pain, through good days and hard ones. She cared for him tenderly until the very end, and even now, she stands tall as the heart and soul of our family. 🌹👑
When Uncle Jack passed on New Year’s Day 2025, our entire family flew up to Oakland for the memorial service. 🛫🕊️ It was held at Chapel of the Chimes, and let me tell you—it was packed. Not a dry eye in the place. 😢 Not because we were mourning without hope—but because we were overwhelmed by the depth and beauty of a life so well lived, and a love so richly shared. 🌟❤️
So let me tell you about Uncle Jack—and the extraordinary woman who stood by his side. 📝👫
“A Vapor, Then a Legacy: The Life and Love of Uncle Jack Costa”
“What is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”
— James 4:14 (KJV) 📖
On January 1, 2025, while the world was counting down a new year, Jack Costa quietly completed his journey on earth—having lived 103 years and 24 days. 🕰️🌍 His life was not only long in years but deep in meaning, rich in struggle, and triumphant in love. 💫💒
He was the kind of man who didn’t just pass through time—he shaped it. 🔨⏳
Born into Adversity, Raised for Greatness
📍 December 8, 1921 — Alameda County, California
Jack was born into a world where the odds were never in his favor. ✊🏽 Alameda wasn’t just majority white—it was openly hostile to Black residents. The Ku Klux Klan had 85 members locally and even held a convention in the area. ⚠️ Life for a Black family wasn’t just difficult—it was dangerous. 🧱⛓️
Jack came from first-generation Black immigrant roots. He spoke Portuguese and Creole, a West African dialect of Portuguese—languages that connected him to a proud and resilient heritage. 🌍🗣️ He was raised on a small farm, where he and his family raised chickens, goats, and rabbits, trading for the things they couldn’t grow or afford. 🐔🐐🥕🔁
There was no safety net. There was no luxury. There was only faith, family, and hard work. 🙏🏽👨🏽👩🏽👧🏽👦🏽💪🏽
Life in the 1920s: Economics and Survival 📉📆
To understand how remarkable Jack’s journey was, consider the world he was born into:
• 🏠 Average cost of a house in 1921: $6,296
• 🚗 A new Ford Model T: $350
• 🍞 Loaf of bread: 12 cents
• 🥛 Gallon of milk: 55 cents
• 💵 Average yearly wage: ~$1,200 (and far less for Black Americans)
There was no federal minimum wage—it wouldn’t come until 1938. Racial discrimination meant Black workers were paid even less and often barred from good-paying jobs altogether. 🛑⚖️
But Jack—without privilege, without formal wealth—found a way. 🔍🛠️
He worked right after high school, never expecting a handout, only asking for a chance. And when war called, he answered. 🎖️
A Soldier in a Segregated Army 🪖
Three years after graduating, Jack joined the U.S. Army as a Military Police officer. It was 1942, and the world was at war—but so was America, with its own conscience. 🌍⚔️
Jack wore the uniform, but still couldn’t eat in the same cafés as white soldiers. 🧑🏽✈️❌ Worse still, German POWs were treated better than he was—allowed to dine in places where Jack was denied because of the color of his skin. 💔
He saw the ugly underbelly of racism, not just at home but within the military itself. Yet he didn’t let bitterness consume him. 🕊️ He came back in 1945, honorably discharged, with dignity intact and purpose still burning. 🔥
From MP to Dockworker: Building a Future in the Face of Barriers ⚓👷🏽
Back in the Bay Area, Jack began working on the Oakland docks. ⚒️ It was hard, physical work—but it was honest, and it paid well compared to many jobs available to Black men. 💼
In the 1940s:
• 🏠 Average home price: $3,775
• 🚗 New car: $920
• ⛽ Gallon of gas: 15 cents
• 🎟️ Movie ticket: 30 cents
• 💰 Minimum wage (1945): 40 cents/hour (again, not equally enforced)
Yet Jack didn’t just survive—he thrived. He bought a home. He built a family. 🏡👨🏽👩🏽👦🏽 He navigated the impossible economy of the times by living beneath his means, working tirelessly, and building slowly—like a craftsman shaping a masterpiece one nail at a time. 🪚🧱
Love, Loyalty, and the Quiet Strength of Dorothy Costa 💍🌹
Behind every great man is a greater woman—and for Jack, that was Dorothy Costa. His wife, his friend, his partner of 30 years. 💑
She stood by his side not for show, not for praise, but for love. 💖 Through every illness, every ache, every test of time, she remained. When his body weakened, her strength increased. When his memory faded, her devotion did not. 🕊️💪🏽
Dorothy showed us all that real love is commitment.
Not the kind captured in selfies or hashtags—but the kind that says “I’m still here,” day after day, year after year, until the very end. 🫶🏽📆
She is the shining example of what marriage should look like. 💎 In her, Jack found his peace. And through her, we all witnessed the sacred beauty of vows kept. 💒
A Legacy Measured in More Than Years ⏳🕊️
Jack Costa lived:
• 📅 103 years
• 📆 1,236 months
• 📅 5,372 weeks
• 🌞 37,606 days
• ⏰ 902,544 hours
• 🕐 54,152,640 minutes
• 🧭 3,249,158,400 seconds
That’s over three billion chances to give, to build, to speak truth, to leave footprints. 👣🛠️📖
And that’s what he did. Without fanfare. Without a following. But with faith, fortitude, and family. 🛐🧱❤️
Final Reflection: The Role Model Who Never Asked for Praise 🌟
“We’re all role models. Good or bad. Somebody’s always watching.”
– Uncle Jack Costa 👁️
Jack never tried to impress—he simply expressed who he was.
A man. A worker. A father. A husband. A soldier. A believer. A builder. 🧔🏽👷🏽🪖🕊️
In a world that often told him “no,” he carved out his own “yes.” ✔️
He showed us that greatness isn’t about the spotlight—it’s about consistency.
That success isn’t about ease—it’s about endurance. 🛠️⛅
Uncle Jack Costa was a vapor, yes. But he left a cloud of legacy so rich, so textured, so enduring—it will never vanish. ☁️📚
