George "Pat" Mangan Jr.

     “With the Saints give rest, O Christ, to the soul of thy servant where there is no pain, nor any sorrow, nor any sighing, but Life everlasting.”

     George “Pat” Mangan Jr. built his life around God and his family.  He was born in Lansing, Michigan November 16th, 1935 and fell asleep peacefully in the Lord on April 1st, 2023.  He is survived by his wife, Cathleen “Cathy”, son M. Sean (Sue) Mangan, daughter Julie (Rob) Schaffer, and son Kile; grandchildren, Katie, Áine (Sam), Andrew (Kelsey), Sean (Grace), and Brigid.  He is preceded in death by his parents George and Marion Mangan, brother Dennis Mangan, and cousin Marilyn Miglin.

     Pat grew up in Springfield, IL, graduated high school there and spent a year at IIT in Chicago, before he enlisted in the Marine Corps from 1954-1957. In the Corps, he taught Morse Code in San Diego and was later stationed in Hawaii as a communicator.  He spent a semester at Bradley University in Peoria, before transferring to the University of Illinois in Urbana/Champaign.  On Tuesday, June 12th 1962, Pat and Cathy were married; on Saturday, June 16th, he graduated with a BA in Architecture; on the following Monday morning, Pat started his first architecture job in Urbana and remained there until he and Cathy vacationed to Door County in 1969.  During that vacation they read in the local paper that the lone architect had recently passed away.  “When you find a void – fill it.”  They moved to Sister Bay a month later.

     You don’t need to look far to see Pat’s impressive work throughout the Peninsula.  His first job in 1969 was designing a swimming pool at the Knudson House in Ephraim, but his most memorable projects include Al Johnson’s Swedish restaurant, Peninsula Art School, The Clearing (schoolhouse, Jens Jensen Center, wood shop and Forge building), Northern Sky (formerly American Folklore) Theater, The Northern Grill (formerly Fish Connection), Sister Bay Marina, Northport Ferry Terminal and restaurant; and remodelings of Sister Bay Village Hall and Post Office, Sister Bay Café and gallery (formerly Johnny’s Cottage), Sister Bay Bowl and The Boathouse On The Bay restaurant, and many residential homes.

     His kids would joke that “Dad was sleeping again” as he dozed in his chair…he always claimed he was “thinking.”  And it was there that he created beautiful dream homes for his many clients.  Pat and Cathy loved to travel the globe, which further inspired Pat’s love of architecture.  Photos of their travels are filled mostly with pictures of buildings, especially ceilings.  Pat loved to use light, angles and space to create natural beauty.

     As a long-standing member of the Door Community, he was a volunteer firefighter and first responder, on the Sister Bay Zoning board, and a founding member of the Kiwanis Club of Northern Door.  Most recently, he was a proud member of the American Legion Post 527 and Marine Corps League Door Peninsula Detachment 1130.  Pat was a founding member of the Orthodox Mission Church of St. Matthew in Green Bay, WI (formerly of Appleton/Neenah).

     Pat’s true love was building churches to glorify God. Exemplifying Fyodor Dostoevsky’s belief that “Beauty would save the world,” his works include Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church in Palatine, IL, Saint Ignatius Orthodox Church in Verona, WI, St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in St. Louis, MO, the Stavkirke and Bethel Free Church on Washington Island, Door of Life in Sister Bay, and first unit of Prince of Peace Church in Sturgeon Bay.  Pat’s most beloved work, which he built by hand over many, many years, is The Holy Transfiguration Chapel in his backyard.

     “Into thy hands, O Lord, I commend the soul of thy servant, Reader George, and beseech thee to grant him rest in the place of thy rest, where all thy blessed Saints repose, and where the light of thy countenance shineth forever. And I beseech thee also to grant that our present lives may be godly, sober, and blameless, that, we too may be made worthy to enter into thy heavenly Kingdom with those we love but see no longer: for thou art the Resurrection, and the Life, and the Repose of thy departed servants, O Christ our God, and unto thee we ascribe glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.” Orthodox prayer for the Repose of Souls.

     Memory Eternal!

     Visitation will be at the Holy Transfiguration Chapel, 10764 N. Bay Shore Dr, Sister Bay, WI (back northside of Mangan’s residence) from 2:00-5:00 on Tuesday, April 4th, with a Memorial Service at 5:00pm.

     His funeral service will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 5th at 10:00, St. Matthew Orthodox Church, 607 Ravenswood Dr. Green Bay, WI 54302.

     Burial will follow at Little Sister Cemetery around 1:00. 

     A Mercy Meal will be served at 2:00pm following the burial at Shepherd of The Bay Lutheran Church, 11836 Wis Hwy 42, Ellison Bay, WI 54210.

     Donations can be made in his memory to St. Matthew Orthodox Church, memo: for the upkeep of Holy Transfiguration Chapel, which can be mailed to St Matthew’s, online, or just left in the chapel. https://www.aplos.com/aws/give/StMatthewsOrthodoxChurch

     Casperson Funeral Home in Sister Bay, WI is assisting with arrangements. Expressions of sympathy, memories, and photos may be shared on the tribute page at www.caspersonfuneralhome.com.

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