Contributions to the tribute of Phyllis K. Marangelo

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Karl Van Gurp lit a candle

Monday, May 18, 2020

Phyllis Marangelo was my favorite aunt. She married my mother's brother John when I was just a few years old and has been an enormous influence on my life ever since. She always had a smile and a kind word. We always spent the holidays together which is the source of the attached photo from 1992. The elderly lady is Aunt Phyllis's mother, Erna Kopp. One of my favorite memories was when my Aunt Phyllis and Uncle John took my three brothers (Phil was not born yet) and me to the Worlds Fair in New York City. It was 1964 and I was about 7 years old. This was my first time traveling over the George Washington Bridge. Exciting? No way! I said my prayers because I knew that bridge would collapse and I was going to die. I put on a brave face as I sat up front between Aunt Phyllis and Uncle John. But, I survived.We had a truly wonderful day before we had to see George again. But, this time I had a plan. As soon as we departed the fair, I put my head on Aunt Phyllis's lap and was fast asleep within minutes. I was still sure I would die but at least I would sleep through it. Well, I didn't die but I got a great nap on a great lap. Over the years we had many more holiday dinners, multi family camping trips to White Birches in the Catskills of New York and celebrations of life events. My Aunt Phyllis was there for all of them. I truly miss her but am happy that she is at peace, Goodbye Aunt Phyllis. I love you. Karl Van Gurp

Paul Marangelo lit a candle

Friday, April 24, 2020

It has been nearly a week, and It has been so hard, having to wait for perhaps months until we can have a proper memorial service for you. And I’ve also been unfortunately distracted the past week with logistics and trying to figure out a course action to minimize the chances of Dad coming down with COVID-19 as well. I’ve said this many times to you in silence over the past week in my COVID-19 home-bounded seclusion: above all else, thank you. Besides your love and my life itself, the biggest gift you have given me is your unwavering support for the decisions that I have made throughout my life. In order to navigate a life path that made sense for me, I’ve made many unconventional decisions over the years – all necessary, given the fundamental dysfunctionality of our world and my difficulty in fitting into it. And amazingly enough, it nevertheless, more or less, ended up working out for me by some miracle. And if you and Dad were not so consistently supportive and encouraging over the years, the outcome for me would probably not been so great. It literally took me 17 years after graduating high school, flailing around between college, 2 forays into graduate school (the second one successful!), a series of unusual, too many to count short-term jobs in different parts of the country, until I was able to find consistent full-time employment that put me on a stable financial footing and satisfied my overriding need to do work that was fully aligned with my personal values and interests. It could have very easily turned out otherwise for me. Yet through it all, you never really questioned my direction, even as my decisions resulted in tradeoffs that ended up with me living in a different part of the country, and essentially precluded me from giving you grandchildren. You did the very best you could for my brother and I, your efforts were a key part of helping us find our respective ways. I will carry this appreciation to my grave. We love you, and will miss you terribly.

Paul Marangelo lit a candle

Sunday, April 19, 2020

I am as overwhlemed by sadness with her passing as I am overwhelmed with memories of my mother, Phyllis Marangelo. Here is one: I have an old scrabble board in my house - it probably dates to the 1950's. I think of you and Nana sitting at the table on the porch in the mid-70's playing scrabble, musing over word/letter combinations, with a gentle summer night breeze coming through the screen windows, and fireflies sparkling up the yard. I can still hear your low spoken musings. I associate this memory with serenity and security. I am sure to add more, but for some reason I wanted to start with this one.

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Phyllis K. Marangelo

1935 - 2020

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