Mafalda Ann Mangieri

Rutland- Mafalda Ann Mangieri, life long resident of Rutland, Vermont, died at her home on January 6, 2025 at the age of 102. She was the last surviving member of her immediate family and the matriarch of her extended Abatiello family. It was a wonderful gift to have had her in our lives for so many years.
Mafalda grew up in the Gut along with her brother and 4 sisters. Her father Carmine Abatiello was a shoemaker whose shop was in their home and her mother Stella worked as a seamstress across the street at Dick's Dress Shop. She was shaped by her Italian immigrant neighborhood. Family, friends and community were the most important things in her life. She and her siblings made their own fun with little or no money. Whether tap-dancing with a sister, piling into Stella's old car along with half the neighborhood kids for a joy ride, or spending an entire afternoon uptown watching movies at the Grand Theatre, Mafalda knew the value of having fun and living a joyful life.
Mafalda graduated from St Peter's School in 1938 and the Jersey State Beauty Academy in 1940. She operated a beauty shop at home for 50 years while raising a family of seven girls. Her customers held and fed the babies while getting cuts and perms. At Terry's Beauty Shop advice and therapy were given at no extra cost, neighborhood news was discussed and the everyday sorrows and joys of life were shared.
While going to school in Jersey City, Mafalda met her future husband, Nicky Mangieri. Her story was that their eyes locked while she was in an upstairs window and Nicky was out in the street pitching pennies. They were married in 1944 and after Nicky's service in World War II they returned to Rutland and started raising their family. For a number of years they lived with Mafalda's parents in the flat iron shaped home on the corner of Forest and Howe. In 1958 they bought their home on East Street. It was the center of family life not only for themselves but also for their extended family and friends. You could show up unannounced and still be welcomed with a cup or coffee or a bowl of soup (and a hug and a kiss). Over the years countless numbers of epic meals and celebrations where shared and both body and soul were nourished.
Mafalda had an open and curious mind and an empathetic heart. She always loved a good story and was genuinely interested in yours whether you were working for her, waiting on her, or a stray friend who was lucky enough to be invited to Christmas Eve Dinner. She had strong opinions on many subjects from politics to how to hang the laundry and scored off the charts on the picky shopper scale. She was always giving her advice (whether you wanted it or not!). Mafalda's family benefited from her talents in the kitchen and as a seamstress but she never shared her deer hunting secrets. She had a great sense of humor and enjoyed a joke at her own expense more than anyone else. She never held a grudge and she never stayed mad. She moved on, always.
Mafalda was a master of the long goodbye. Just when you thought you'd given your final hug goodbye and finished the 7th round of "see you next time, love you, gotta go grandma" and had one hand on the back door knob and the other on your car keys Mafalda would have another thought, a final request and just one more question that defied a simple yes or no answer. You'd be still held in her orbit.
Many people have asked what her secret was to have lived so long and so well. Maybe one of the reasons was her constant effort to maintain those strong bonds of family and friendship and to receive that love in return.
Mafalda was predeceased in death by her husband of 56 years, Nicholas Mangieri, her beloved daughter Nancy Deuel, sisters Clementine Lewis (Edward), Theresa Beauchamp (Larry), Mary Thomas (Richard), Alice Gianikas (Angelo), and brother Peter Abatiello (Barbara).
She is survived by her daughters Diane (Thomas Perry), Cynthia (David Sprague), Dale Gray, Mary (John Eckert), Jeannette Mangieri, and Michele (Kenneth Motley), 7 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren, and 3 great great grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews who she loved like her own children and was loved by.
Mafalda was on the board of the Rutland Area ARC, a parishioner of Christ the King Church, and a member of the Italian American Club.
A memorial service and celebration of Mafalda's life will be held on May 21, 2025 in Christ the King Church. Another obituary will appear in the spring. Arrangements are under the direction of Clifford's Funeral Home.
In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Rutland Area ARC, the Rutland Dismas House, or the Calvary Cemetery.