Caryl Delzell Mangan

Caryl Edith Delzell was born on June 28, 1926 in Klamath Falls, Oregon to Sarah Croxton Delzell, a writer, and Thomas White Delzell, an engineer and utility executive who later became chief executive officer of Portland General Electric. She had one younger brother, Paul Croxton Delzell. Her mother recorded in her journal that the maternity nurses proclaimed Caryl the prettiest baby in the hospital.

The family moved to Portland in the 1940s, where Caryl graduated from Grant High School. She enrolled at her parents’ alma mater, Oregon State University, and later transferred to the University of Oregon, where she earned her B.A. in arts and letters in 1948. She was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority at both colleges and remained an active Theta advocate. A post-graduation Grand Tour to Europe via the Mauretania imbued her with a passion for foreign travel, languages, art and history. Her journals of the trip became treasured memorabilia in her later years.

In 1950, a friend introduced Caryl to Harry Mangan, a real estate executive who had recently moved to Portland from Minneapolis. The couple were married on July 12, 1952 at St. Mary’s Cathedral Church in Portland.

The couple had their first two daughters in Portland, before moving to Walla Walla, Washington in 1955, where they welcomed three more children and formed numerous lasting friendships.

Upon returning to Portland in 1964, Caryl volunteered for many local organizations, including Cathedral School, the Assistance League, and the Boys and Girls Aid Society. She fed her passion for the arts by serving for many years on the Portland Civic Theatre Guild and as a docent at the Portland Art Museum, and subscriber to Oregon Ballet Theatre and the Oregon Symphony.

Caryl was a talented painter and printmaker. She was a dedicated gardener and had deep interest in politics and foreign affairs, travel, geography, and her favorite sports since her teen years: skiing and golf.

Caryl’s family and friends were at the center of her life. After the death of her husband in 1992, she kept in touch with friends and relatives near and far and maintained an active social and volunteer life, skiing well into her 70s and playing golf into her 80s. She and Harry were longtime members of both Portland Golf Club and Astoria Golf and Country Club.

She remained a stalwart Portland Garden Club member into her 90s, belonged to the Multnomah Athletic Club for more than 50 years and was a lifetime member of the University Club and the Town Club. Her charm, humor and social energy earned her a thoroughly deserved college nickname, “Dazzle,” a play on her maiden name which stuck with her throughout her life.

After shepherding her children through years of Sunday Mass, Caryl was confirmed into the Catholic faith in 2001 at St. Mary’s Cathedral, the same church that had presided over her wedding, the education of her children and the funeral of her beloved husband.

Caryl was a woman of great intelligence and many enthusiasms, full of perseverance and determination, an unfailingly kind and thoughtful friend. She is survived by all her children: Martha Younie, Sarah Mangan, and Anne Mangan (Chris Malcolm), all of Portland, John Mangan (Beth Barbre) of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Jane Mangan of Los Angeles, as well as five grandchildren: Eloise Younie, Glenn Younie, Sam Younie (Cari), Hadley Malcolm (Sam Kallevig), Dorothy Davenport (Cody) and numerous nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank Caryl’s devoted caregiver Becky Onorato and her sorority sister Carol Englehart, both of whom spent many hours visiting over the last two years, and all of Caryl’s loyal friends and Kappa Alpha Theta sisters.

Caryl will be buried next to her husband, Harry, in a private ceremony at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Mary’s Cathedral on October 16 at 1:00 pm, followed by a reception for family and friends at the Town Club.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in Caryl’s memory may be sent to the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation, Apha Xi Chapter (www.kappaalphatheta.org/foundation); St. Mary’s Cathedral Church, the Boys and Girls Aid Society, the Oregon Symphony, or the University of Oregon English Department.