Mary Elizabeth Mangels-McGowan

Mary is of Cold Spring Harbor, born in Syosset to Henry Mangels and Gertrude Mangels (née Brinskelle). She is survived by her husband, Keith, her daughter Brittany McGowan-Faria, her son Jonathan, son-in-law Nicholas Faria, and dog Noelle.

Mary lived for her family, and she lived for a good time. She was fun, she was spunky, she was more creative than she gave herself credit for. She loved music, she loved dancing, and she loved sharing that with the people she loved most.

There was nothing more important to Mary than to be happy and to that that meant the time spent with her family. Her kids, her husband, the dog. Her parents, her siblings, her nieces and nephews. Mary always put her family first. As we look to photo albums to reminisce, we see that she’s hardly in any photos, as she was the one taking them. The photos of the family were not of our lives, but how she saw hers.

Mary was happiest when the sun shone. She was happiest in the warm weather. She loved the beach, always saying the ocean water was healing. She loved the steady crash of the waves on the shore, the smell of salt in the air. She even loved the ocean on a dark and foggy day. As such, Montauk was her favorite place on earth, but only if her family and friends were with her. That sunset we saw on the evening of her passing - you can thank her for that. Mary painted the sky on her way up. Most photos include her with sunglasses or a hat, because she was outside whenever she had the chance.

Mary loved a good time. She loved roller coasters; from Adventureland to Disney and Universal; she loved good movies, going into the city to see a show. She grew up a fan of the Mets because, back in the day, the NYPD got discount tickets, and her family was able to go. She was a supporter of the military, service members, and first responders, as her father was NYPD and Military. She loved concerts; from reunion tours at Jones Beach, to cover bands at The Paramount, to personal DJ sets from her husband.

Mary loved new experiences. From Lake George, to skiing in Austria, Lake Placid, and Vermont, exploring Scotland and Italy, visiting London, down to Georgia, Florida, and the Caribbean to St. Martin, Grand Cayman, Antigua, Jamaica; over to California, Las Vegas. She enjoyed paddle boarding on calm water days of the North Shore. Mary lived to make memories, even if that was just baking her Christmas cookies and chocolates, or her famous chocolate chip-M&M cookies. There was never a shortage of dark chocolate in the house.

Mary was the epitome of strength. She fought domino-effect ailments over the last 18 months of her life. Know that she is no longer suffering, and that she may finally rest. She rests alongside her parents, whom she loved and missed dearly.

Mary made sure to live every moment she could, and she would want us to live our lives as such. For Mary, live your life. Live to make memories. As she would say, “Find Your Happy”.

A Memorial Service will be held at Beney Funeral Home, 79 Berry Hill Road, Syosset, NY 11791, US, on March 13, 2026, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Edward Confessor RC Church, 205 Jackson Ave, Syosset, New York 11791, on March 14, 2026, from 9:45 am to 10:45 am.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation at t2t.org