Saratoga Springs, NY - Anthony M. Costanzo died Wednesday, December 3, 2008, after a brief illness. He was 85. He was born April 17, 1923 in Pittsburgh, PA. He grew up in the lower Hill District of Pittsburgh during the Great Depression. As a professional musician, he toured through all 48 states as a drummer during the Big Band era, most notably with Blue Barron and his orchestra. He served his country with honor and distinction as a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. After his service, he enrolled at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh as a journalism student under the G.I. Bill. While at Duquesne, he was the photo editor and later the news editor of the student newspaper, the "Duquesne Duke". Following his sophomore year at Duquesne, he transferred to the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. While at Northwestern, he became a member of the Pi Alpha Mu international professional fraternity for publishing, advertising and management. He was graduated from Northwestern in 1955 with a B.S. in journalism, and worked for the Chicago Sun Times as a reporter, department editor, and columnist. He left the Sun Times to embark on a public relations career in New York, where he managed advertising accounts and public relations at Benton & Bowles, Grant Advertising, Fuller & Smith & Ross, Allied Public Relations, and Dunwoodie Associates in Garden City, NY. In 1963, he was graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University, with an M.A. in Education. At New York City Community College, he taught Public Relations and lectured on Marketing. He served as Public Information Officer for the U.S. Department of the Navy, at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, until its closing in 1967. He was for 20 years the Public Relations Director and Public Records Access Officer for the New York State Department of Civil Service in Albany, NY, retiring in 1988. In his retirement, he formed a jazz trio and for many years played well-attended jobs at clubs in the Capital District. He was devoted to his family, and is survived by his wife of 50 years, Marie; his daughters Paula, Christina, Anita and Andrea; sons-in-law Charles Neuner and Alan Edstrom; a sister-in-law, three nieces and a nephew in Pittsburgh; and neighbors and friends the Leakakoses, the Perrys, the Hamms, and the Di Matteos, all of Saratoga Springs. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 AM Monday, December 8, 2008 at St. Clement's Church , 231 Lake Ave. Burial with military honors will follow at the Gerald B.H. Solomon-Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, NY. Arrangements are under the direction of the William J. Burke & Sons/Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Home, 628 N. Broadway, Saratoga Springs, (518) 584-5373. In lieu of flowers, contributions toward the endowment of a scholarship in his memory are requested by his family.