Mrs. Costa, also known as "Erma," 79, of 4 Monarch Drive, a longtime member of the Wolcott Board of Education, died Saturday, Feb. 4, at John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington. She was the wife of Anthony J. Costa.

"She was an activist," said her daughter Judith Purcell of Wolcott. "She found causes that were important to her and she followed through with them."

Mrs. Costa was born Nov. 4, 1926, in Waterbury, daughter of the late Alphonse and Catherine (Corrado) Sirica. She graduated from Waterbury Catholic High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Edgewood Park in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. In 1964, she founded the Monarch Nursery School in her home. The motto of the school was, "We make learning fun," Purcell said.

"She loved children," said her daughter Andrea Homewood of Wolcott. "It was important to her that the children were educated, ready for school, because they are the future."

Her passion for education and community service extended beyond the home. She served on the Republican Town Committee for several years and was the minority leader on the Board of Education from 1963 to 1973. She was president of the Tyrrell School PTA and was a member the building committee for Tyrrell School, the Wolcott School Food Service Committee, and the PTA committee to sponsor symposia on sex education.

She served as president of the Coronas Club, chairman of the Coronas Club scholarship fund, and chairman of the 1966 fund drive for the Waterbury Association for Retarded Citizens in the Wolcott area.

She was also a member of the Waterbury pre-primary program, organized blood drives, and served as a Justice of the Peace.

She was a former member of the St. Pius Ladies Guild, a Sunday School teacher, and a member of the Evergreen Book Club and the Watchful Eye Project. She was member and past president of the Wolcott Jr. Women's Club, a member of the Board of Directors of the Wolcott Chamber of Commerce, and a member of the Beautification of Peterson Park Committee.

She was a founding member and chairman of public affairs for the Farmingbury Women's Club, for which she organized the Suitcases for Kids Program. She was a member of the Wolcott Women's Club and club's tea committee.

She was club president twice and was instrumental in getting the Wolcott Women's Club to become part of the state Federation of Women's Club, where she served on the executive board. She was also named the club's first honorary member.

Costa participated in these organizations because she wanted to make a difference in the community, and because she enjoyed the camaraderie of working with other women and groups of people, her daughters said.

"She put so much into everything she did, whatever she was doing, she gave it 100 percent," Andrea said.

Mrs. Costa retired from teaching in the late 1970s, but remained involved in her nursery school until her death - giving input and feedback to the new teachers and administrators and watching as former students brought their own children into the classroom, her daughters said.

And for her lifelong service to the community, she received the Roseanne Barratt Community Service Award in 1999 and the Sandy Marino distinguished service award in 2000. Her hobbies also included art and listening to music.

Besides her husband of 54 years and her two daughters, she leaves a brother, Andrew Sirica of Waterbury; a sister, Genevieve Banno of Massapequa Park, N.Y.; and three grandchildren. A sister, Barbara Culotta, is deceased.

Arrangements: Mass 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Maria Goretti Church, 1300 Woodtick Road. Burial is private. There are no calling hours. Arrangements by DellaVecchia, Wolcott.

Contributions: American Diabetes Association, 306 Industrial Park Road, Suite 105, Middletown 06457; or the American Heart Association, 5 Brookside Drive, P.O. Box 5022, Wallingford 06492.

- Sydney Schwartz