Dr. Salvatore Nicholas Mangano, 94, of Hingham and formerly Belmont, MA died April 11, 2017. “Sal” was born in Cambridge, the only son of Santo and Rose(Costa) Mangano. He was educated in the Cambridge public schools and attended high school at Cambridge Latin. He went on to receive his AB from Harvard College in 1944 and his MD degree from Tufts University Medical School in 1947. From 1951 to 1953, he served as a Captain in the US Air Force at the School of Aviation Medicine in Waco, TX. He married the late Anna Barney (Stevenson) Mangano of Barre, MA on April 28, 1956.
Dr. Mangano’s career in medicine spanned over 50-years specializing in colon-rectal surgery, performing his duties out of the Mt. Auburn, Cambridge City, Sancta Maria, St. Elizabeth, and Emerson hospitals. He also served as the Chief of Surgery at the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain. His patients found him to be a concerned and conscientious physician with a personable, sharp-witted, bed-side manner. Towards the end of his career, in deference to the changes in the practice of medicine and the demise of private practice, he limited his involvement to office visits and minor surgery. He also became actively involved in medical peer review and quality assurance, participating in over 400 malpractice cases and tribunals. A momentous occasion for the entire family occurred in 1985 when his daughter, Mary Ellen, also received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Tufts Medical School.
In addition to his surgical practice, he was actively and vociferously involved in the economic, regulatory, and political aspects of the medical profession in the greater Boston area. At various points during the course of his career, he served as the Executive Secretary of the Middlesex South District Medical Society, Secretary of the Massachusetts Medical Society, Founding Director of Bay State Health Care & PSRO, President of the New England Society of Colon-Rectal Surgeons, and Executive Member of the Federation of State Medical Boards. He was also appointed by then Governor Edward King to serve on the Massachusetts Board of Registration from 1981 to 1984, first as Secretary then Chairman. As Chairman, he received a “Certificate of Achievement” from the Federation of State Medical Boards for developing criteria to evaluate foreign medical student graduates for limited and full licensure as well as initiating disciplinary action on medical grounds against illegal drug dispensing physicians.
He relished his role as a physician at the Harvard Health Center and Athletic Department. For 36-years, he was privileged to treat many Harvard athletes, their sons and daughters, and a host of future hall-of-famers . He had a front row seat at the famous 29-29 Harvard “win” vs. Yale in 1968, Harvard’s NCAA ice hockey championship in 1990, and seeing a son compete in both the Beanpot hockey tournament and against the eventual 1980 Olympic gold medal team. Many of the same student athletes he cared for during his time at Harvard became his medical residents, bridge competitors, care providers, and dear friends.
Always one to donate his time and energy, Sal played a leadership role in numerous volunteer and event planning activities including the St. Joseph Church Parish Council, Humarock Beach Association, Linden Ponds Retirement Community, and various State and Federal election fundraising causes.
He loved traveling throughout the world with family and friends. He enjoyed planning the trip as much as he did the trip itself. He would stay up late into the night determining where to go, where to stay, how to get around, what to see, and where to eat. In September 2015, at the age of 92, he embarked by himself on his last trip, a river boat cruise up the Mississippi River.
Most of all, Sal enjoyed being around people no matter what the social setting. One of his favorite pastimes was to host friends at the family beach house in Humarock, MA where he shared a love for the seashore with his son, John. A day trip to the Mangano’s frequently included a boat excursion to dig for clams and pull lobster traps, picking fresh vegetables from the garden for that evening’s dinner, barbequing on the grill, and sitting around the table overlooking the ocean sipping home-made wine. On many an occasion, Sal would complete his day by “surgically” extracting the meat out of crabs late into the night in preparation of the next day’s dinner. His patience, commitment to the task, and love of tasty foods will serve as one of many enduring memories.
He is preceded in death by his beloved wife Anna, darling daughter, Dr. Mary Ellen Mangano, and his sister, Fortunata Mangano, formerly of Cambridge, MA . He is survived by: his two sons, Paul Mangano (Mary Ellen’s twin) of Basking Ridge, NJ and John Mangano of Scituate, MA; two daughters-in-law, Margaret Anne Gross Mangano and Shannon Ossman Mangano; two grandchildren, Stephanie and Mark; and his sister, Nancy Ferrara of Roseland, NJ. He also leaves behind a sister-in-law, two brother-in-laws, 10 nieces and nephews, and a host of friends, colleagues, and students who played very special roles in his life.
Funeral services are being arranged by the DeVito Funeral Home (761 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown, MA). Relatives and friends are invited to visit from 5 pm to 8 pm on Monday, April 17 or from 8 am to 9:30 am on Tuesday, April 18. A Mass of Christian Burial will commence at 10 am on Wednesday morning at St. Joseph’s Church in Belmont; burial will follow at the Cambridge Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Dr. Salvatore Mangano can be made to the American Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Association, or the Dr. Mary Ellen Mangano Scholarship Fund at Harvard University.