Mary Lama Kostic didn't set out to be a cover girl for one of the nation's leading specialty department stores.
But the Newell native is basking in that recognition as one of six Neiman Marcus Spring 2015 Faces of Beauty, thanks to a surprise from her son.
“Neiman Marcus asked their customers to nominate women they thought were beautiful from the inside and the outside,” said Kostic, a 1969 graduate of Frazier High School in Perryopolis now living in the Chicago suburb of Naperville. “My son Graham decided, unbeknownst to me, to write a beautiful nomination letter about me and send my picture into the contest.”
Unaware of her son's actions, Kostic “didn't even know what they were talking about” when she received a call from a woman at the corporate office of Neiman Marcus in Dallas.
“But when she explained that this was a nationwide contest and only six women were chosen, I was amazed and so excited,” she said. “How many 63-year-old women get to do something as exciting as this? I think the fact of not knowing I was nominated or even about the contest in general made the whole experience a lot more exciting.”
In nominating his mother, Graham Kostic praised her for “dedicating her life to her children and representing the epitome of a beautiful woman” in his eyes.
“Inside and out, my mom has got it going on,” he said. “She's gracious. She's graceful. She has a sense of humor. She has styles for miles. She's loving. What she has given us is immeasurable. In life, it all comes down to heart. And my mom has it.”
Kostic and the other five Faces of Beauty were chosen from some 1,000 nominees.
The winners and six Neiman Marcus beauty department managers went to Dallas for two days of personal fittings, photo shoots and celebrating.
The six women are featured in all advertisements for “The Beauty Event,” which is being conducted at all Neiman Marcus stores and online through March 1.
“I was by far the oldest woman there (Dallas),” Kostic said. “One woman is in her 20s, three are in their 30s and another in her 40s. But age did not make a difference. We shared our stories. We laughed, we cried, we celebrated each other, and we all keep in touch by text and email.”
Neiman Marcus describes the winners as “diverse, graceful, passionate women.”
The company prepared a video interview with each woman to tell her individual story.
“It was about our life in general, our outlook on beauty inside and outside,” Kostic said.
Summing up her story for the video Kostic said her life has always been guided by these basic tenets: “My family is the most important thing to me and comes first above anything else.”
“Giving back to others is a must.”
“Everything I do in my life I try to do with grace; to me, that is real beauty.”
Those qualities, and many others, were part of the learning process during Kostic's formative years in Newell.
She is the daughter of the late Carl John Lama and Irene Rocca Lama.
Her father, who was 80 when he died in 2003, worked on the Pennsylvania & Lake Erie Railroad and at Allied Chemical, both in Newell. Her mother died in 2005 at age 79.
Coming from two large families afforded Kostic with continued guidance and words of wisdom during her formative years.
“I always had someone to go to or someone to give me advice,” she said. “But my mom and dad were the greatest mentors anyone could ask for. They were always there for my brothers and me and they instilled in us the values that make the three of us who we are today – family first, trust in the Lord, self confidence, kindness, work hard and, most of all, love.”
Kostic's brothers, Carl John Lama Jr. and Daniel Lewis Lama, live in Newell and Jefferson (Greene County), respectively.
Kostic and her husband Dennis N. Kostic, a native of Monessen, celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary on Jan. 26. They are the parents of three children and have five grandchildren.
Sarah Kostic, 39, is a single mom of three sons – Jackson Brooks, 15; Satchel Aldridge, 5, and Arlo Aldridge, 3 – and works part-time as a dance teacher.
Emily Kostic Brosnahn, 37, is a former special education teacher and now a stay-at-home mother. She and her husband Brady are the parents of two children, Francesca and Oliver.
D. Graham Kostic, 33, is the creative director of Glossed and Found, a weekly online video magazine for unique inspiration and fashionable entertainment. He is married to Francis Taglia.
Following graduation from Frazier High School, Kostic continued her education at California State College (now California University of Pennsylvania) and received a bachelor of science degree in elementary education, early childhood specialization, in 1972. In 1973, she earned a master of arts in teaching degree in elementary education from the University of Pittsburgh.
She taught kindergarten in the McKeesport Public School System and was a substitute teacher in Johnstown before leaving the classroom to focus attention on raising her three children.
This transition also led her to a number of volunteer positions including dedication chairperson, Eucharistic minister, and coordinator, workshop commission chairperson and pre-cana workshop facilitator at Holy Spirit Catholic Community and religious education teacher at various Catholic parishes near Pittsburgh and St. Louis. She also was active with Parent Teacher Association units, including such leadership positions as president in Mount Lebanon, Mancester, Mo., and Naperville.
Kostic and her husband have lived in Naperville, a busy and picturesque community of 145,000, since 1996. Prior to that, they resided in St. Louis, Mount Lebanon, Gary, W.Va., Waynesburg and Johnstown.
Much of the family's travels involved Dennis Kostic's career as a distinguished mining engineer with more than 43 years of engineering and operations experience in the mining industry. A graduate of Monessen High School and the University of Missouri, he has held senior level engineering and operating positions with several major coal mining companies in the U.S. and has worked with coal market studies throughout the country and abroad.
Dennis is president and chief executive officer of Weir International Inc., their family business in Downers Grove, Ill. Mary is co-owner of the firm, which offers mining, geology and engineering services to the United States and international mining industries.
Mary Kostic also is co-owner of Petals & Stems/Home Enhancements, a company offering design services and home staging. She started this business with a friend in 2000.
She also keeps busy as a board member of Mayslake Ministries, a not-for-profit, faith based “retreat without walls.”
“They provide spiritual direction, enrichment programs and retreats for Chicagoland men and women including programs for caregivers, first responders and American veterans and their families,” Kostic said of Mayslake Ministries.
All of those assignments notwithstanding, she still finds “plenty of time” to reminisce about her years in the Mon Valley area.
“I had a wonderful upbringing in Newell,” Kostic said. “I love that little town and I'm so proud that I grew up there.”
She also emphasizes that she grew up in “a big Italian family,” another blessing in her life.
“My mother was the 16th and last child in the Rocca family,” Kostic said. “She has two surviving sisters, Violet Mae Traversari, 95, of New Salem and Mary Ellen Cain, 94, of Perryopolis. They are just like moms to me. I also have many cousins still living in the Mon Valley area and this year, in July, we will celebrate the 60th annual Rocca family reunion at the Santa Barbara Club in Newell.
“My dad's family, the Lamas, also are a big part of my life. My father's surviving siblings are his brother, Conrad Lama, 81, and his wife Elma Jean of Fayette City, and his sister, Virginia Pro, 84, of Charleroi. They are always there for me.”
Although the Lamas are a smaller family, “the cousins never miss an opportunity to have dinner at Lucchesi's, the Back Porch or Rego's when we are in town,” Kostic said.
“We are a very close family,” Kostic said. “It's always so good to go home.”
She also was very active at Frazier High School.
“I was in every club I could possible join and I was a cheerleader,” she said. “I received a great education and had a lot of fun. The highlight of cheering was the 1968-69 basketball season, when our team almost won the state championship.”
Her best friend during those years was – “and still is” – Mary Givogre Tafel.
“We went through part of grade school, junior high, high school and college together, so we have a lot of memories to share,” Kostic said. “We worked together as carhops during the summer at Stringhill's Pizza on Route 201 in Washington Township. That is where I met my husband Dennis.”
Social media outlets such as Facebook and Instagram make it easy for Kostic to keep in touch with relatives and Frazier, California State College and Newell friends.
“I feel like I am a lot closer to everyone because of these means of communications,” she said.
Ron Paglia is a freelance writer for Trib Total Media.
