R.G. Costiloe

R.G. Costiloe, 79, of Amarillo, formerly of Dumas, passed away May 5, 2023, after a mighty battle with cancer.

Memorial services will be at 2:00 pm, Monday, May 15, 2023, at Boxwell Brothers Memorial Chapel, 500 N. Maddox, in Dumas, Texas.

R.G. was born July 4, 1943, in Atoka, Oklahoma to Guy and Helen Costiloe. He grew up near Plainview, Texas. He proudly served in the United States Army in the 2

nd

Armored Division for Field Artillery Missile and Battalion Fire Direction Center.

After returning from overseas service, R.G. met and then married his sweetheart Charlene Ferguson in Plainview, Texas, in June 1966. In 1968, he received a senior accounting diploma from the Business College of the Southwest. He worked as a milk delivery man, in the oilfields for Haliburton, and many other jobs before settling down in Dumas to raise his family.

In Dumas, he worked as a Parts Manager and Mechanic for Witt Motors and Duffer Chevrolet. He worked at Murphy Oldsmobile from 1979-1989 as Service Manager, Parts Department Manager, and Master Mechanic. R.G. became a Master Mechanic and Technician for General Motors and through the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). He entered Amarillo College in 1984 and continued taking classes until 2019.

He realized his dream of operating his own business due to the mentorship of his friends. Together, R.G. and Charlene owned and operated R.G.’s Automotive in Dumas from 1989-2005. Following retirement from their automotive business, R.G. worked briefly as an Amarillo General Motors dealership mechanic and as a local Amarillo ISD elementary school custodian. He then worked as a Texas Correctional Officer from 2007 to 2021.

R.G. was a lifelong learner and held a personal belief one should never stop learning and improving in skills and applying tangible working knowledge. He often attended classes at Amarillo College while his daughters attended West Texas A&M University in order to encourage each in their degree paths and to experience college life with them.

He was a longtime member of the Dumas Noon Lions Club, volunteered for the Dumas Lions Club Dogie Days, participated in and won several 5k and 10k races in the Panhandle area from 1984 to 2001, and was a finalist for WTAMU Parents of the Year in 2000. In addition, R.G. was a member of Bible Baptist Church of Dumas where he was baptized in 1982 and watched his children come to know Christ as their personal Savior.

He loved to laugh with an infectious grin and have one-on-one conversations about business, cars, family life, the Bible, God, and life.

R.G. loved his family as the most important gift God had given him, and he will be deeply missed.

He is preceded in death by his father Guy Costiloe and mother Helen Carey; stepfather Gene Carey; and in-laws Vernon and Mildred Ferguson.

R.G. is survived by his loving wife of almost 57 years, Charlene; four daughters, Janelle Costiloe of Amarillo, Texas, Jennifer Rinker (John Mark Rinker) of Perryton, Texas, Melissa Costiloe of Amarillo, Texas, and Susan Bentley (Justin Bentley) of Saginaw, Texas; older sister, Betty Cooper of Andrews, Texas; and four dearly loved grandchildren, Tori, Emily, Jacob, and Kaitlyn.

Online condolences may be shared at

www.boxwellbrothers.com