By:Karenlyn Barone
On Sept. 10, Mangravite, 102, died of natural causes.
"He was a man you could speak openly with," recalled William "Bud" Robinson, a lifelong Lynbrook resident whose parents were friends of the former mayor. "My father was leader of the Unity Party at the time, and Mangravite would come into my father's insurance office at least once or twice a week to shoot the breeze. He was very approachable, and the opinions of the people he served were very important to him."
Mangravite was appointed mayor in 1958, and re-elected twice. Before becoming mayor, he served as a village trustee from 1951 to 1958.
"I remember him as the type of man who saw things clearly," said Robinson. "He did not spend the taxpayers, money indiscriminately. He was smart and he was astute."
Mangravite moved to Lynbrook from Brooklyn in the late 1920s, having immigrated to the U.S. from Italy when he was 10. He was one of 10 children, and he went no further than the eighth grade, but he had a work ethic that proved to be unmatched.
In 1942, Mangravite and his wife, Dorothy, founded an import-export spice business that they called Twin Tree Gardens. The business operated from a building on Whitehall Street in Lynbrook, and was quite successful. Mangravite retired in 1968 to spend more time with his wife and daughter, Elissa. To this day, even though the Whitehall Street building is leased, it is still family-owned.
Mangravite, whose wife died in 1982, spent the last years of his life in Miller Place, where his daughter lives. "I called to invite him to a village celebration in 2000," recalled current Mayor Eugene Scarpato. "Unfortunately, he was too aged to travel."
Mangravite is survived by three grandsons, Rick, Michael and David Jung, and five great-grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements were handled by O.B. Davis Funeral Home in Miller Place. A funeral Mass was offered at St. James Church in Setauket, followed interment at the church's cemetery.
I had a great deal of respect for the man," said Robinson. "He was the type of man a small village needs. He was not dominated by any one group, or person. I remember him as a very good mayor."
