Obituary of Joseph Cosentino

Joseph “Joe” A. Cosentino, a lifelong resident of Burlington passed away suddenly on Monday morning, August 17, 2015. He was 38 years old. Joe was a Burlington High School Class of 1995 graduate. Joe was a big strong athlete and excelled in sports. He played on the front line for football, wrestled in the heavy weight division of wrestling, and played goalie for the high school lacrosse team. Joe was often described as “Fearless” when it came to sports. He worked as a licensed plumber working in new construction and household renovations and repairs. He was currently working on earning his Master’s Plumbing License. He was a loving and devoted son and brother. He was the special uncle to his two nieces, especially after their mother’s passing last year. Joe was a loving and caring son, brother, uncle, and friend. His passing leaves a void in all their hearts which he filled. Joe was the loving son of Antonio “Tony” and Mary (Bradshaw) Cosentino of Burlington. He was the brother of John & Jennifer of Burlington and the late Laura Chambers. Proud uncle of Sarah and Samantha Chambers of Townsend. He was the beloved Godson of Carol Evans of Eaton, NH. Nephew of Philip Evans of Eaton, NH, Grace & Michael Montuori of Saugus, Eleanor Lambiase of Winthrop, James Bradshaw of Brockton, and Kathleen Bradshaw of Woburn. Joe was also survived by many other cousins and friends. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn Street, BURLINGTON (exit 34 off Rt. 128/95, Woburn side) on Saturday, August 22 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Margaret’s Church, 111 Winn Street, Burlington at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Friday from 4-8 p.m. Interment in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington. Eulogy by John Cosentino First I wanted to thank you all for coming. I know this would have meant a lot to Joe to have you all here. He would love to have an audience like this....except for you Geno, I'm not sure about how he would have felt about you being. (I'm sorry Geno, I'm going to pick on you a little bit today). The support my family and I received this week has been amazing. It really captured how much Joe meant to all of you. I agonized over what to write for this. I didn't want it to be too sad.....we've cried already this week. I didn't want it to be too funny,....though that would have been easy as there are SO many funny Joe stories. I didn't want to try to be too poignant or poetic....Joe would have hated that. Instead I'm just going to try to do what Joe would do....to remind you of the good times we all had together.. At the same time I'll have to keep it PG, which as we all know, is a challenge when trying to tell stories about Joe. We'll save the R rated stuff for the reception. Joe was a fiercely protective older brother, especially of my sister Jen, whom he affectionately called PeeWee, I think Joe thought of Jen as the little girl he watched over during our childhood rather than the woman she has grown up to be. He wanted nothing more than to protect her, I can't tell you how many times I heard him offer to beat someone up on her behalf....which of course, she never took him up on. But he was not only a big brother to me and Jen, but a big brother to many of the people sitting here today. He relished that role. Nothing made him happier than to be there for someone in their time of need. He wanted to be a protector and a confidante....someone you came to for advice, or just to vent some frustrations to. He wanted to be that guy for all his friends and all his family. I want to share with you a story of Joe's generosity....Each birthday my parents would give us 10 dollars for every year we were alive. So, when we turned 16 we got 160 dollars (yeah, we were a little bit spoiled), so birthdays for me meant about a months worth of fun. For Joe, it usually meant a day worth of fun. Which often confused me, I always wondered where all that money went. After talking to a friend earlier this week, I finally found out how the money disappeared so quickly. It turns out, Joe wasn’t spending it on himself, but instead spreading it amongst his friends. He wanted to make sure that not only he, but all his friends had a good time. That was the type of guy he was, he was willing to forgo some of his own comfort for the sake of everyone else. Allot of you may not know this, but Joe taught many of us here how to drive. Often before we ever had our learners permits. Back in high school, late at night on the back roads of Burlington, you'd often find Joe in the passenger seat coaching someone who was FAR TOO YOUNG to be driving on the finer points of motor vehicle operations. These lessons became known as the Swampy Defensive School of driving (of which I am a proud graduate). Some of the rules we were taught were “stop signs are merely suggestions”, and “while there is a speed limit, there is no limit as to how fast you reached said speed.” (that was an important one to Joe). Joe had a big personality, whether he was leading our younger cousins in renditions of RUN DMC classics or wearing costumes to family parties for a laugh, he always knew how to keep us entertained. Some of you may recall the restaurant Chadwick's....For those who dont, Chadwick's famous for their signature dish called the “belly buster”. The belly buster was 24 scoops of ice cream and every topping you can think of. The deal was, if you finished the belly buster, you didn't have to pay for it. Both times Joe finished it, he walked into Chadwick's without a dollar in his pocket. Joe did NOT lack confidence.....in any aspect of his life. Not only did he finish the 24 scoops of ice cream both times, he did it all while holding court, not just for his friend at the table but for the entire restaurant who had become engrossed in the show. He had everyone rooting for him to finish. Joe had a way of making strangers feel like friends and friends feel like family. Perhaps one of Joe's most endearing traits was his ability to find ways to create fun out of life's more mundane moments. He once popularized a game at school pep rallies where he and his friends wagered on how many times the Color Guard would drop their batons. It proved to be so popular that attendance at the pep rallies shot through the roof and the crowd actually counted along with each drop of a baton. Of course, Joe and his friends were eventually busted for their scheme, but the school administrators found the whole thing too funny to offer any punishment. Once again Joe found a way to charm his way out of trouble. Joe was also big when it came to his beliefs. He was stuck in his ways whether he was talking politics, sports, or spirituality. And while he was not terribly into organized religion, he was a believer in the afterlife. He would have many debates with my Mom about the existence of ghosts. He once told her that if he were to die before she did he would most definitely haunt her, just to prove that he was right. Mom … keep us updated on how that works out. In closing, I think we can all agree that the last thing Joe would want to see if a church full of his family and friends crying and mourning him. He would want us to celebrate him. Celebrate the amazing memories which so many of you have shared this past week. Celebrate the laughter he brought into all of our lives. Celebrate that we were all so fortunate to have shared time with such an unforgettable guy. Thank you all again for coming. Rest in peace brother.