Posted on 11/26/2018
Lieutenant Colonel Donald L. Mang, USAF (RET), died on November 12, 2018 at the Osprey Lodge in Tavares, Florida at the age of 88. Don was born in Niagara Falls, NY and enlisted in the Navy in 1948. He earned a fleet appointment to the Naval Academy, graduating with the 16th company in 1953. Following graduation he married Nancy Jean Matthews and chose to serve in the USAF as a Civil Engineer. He served in London, England, as an instructor in the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio, attended the University of Chicago where he earned an MBA, a tour in Goose Bay, Labrador, a brief tour at Oxnard AFB in California to thaw out, then on to a NATO-Joint Staff assignment in Keflavik, Iceland, as the Commander of the 633rd Civil Engineering Squadron at Pleiku AB in Vietnam, and finally to Headquarters USAF in the Pentagon where he retired from active duty in 1972. Awards included the Meritorious Service Medal, Bronze Star with a "V" device and OLC, Joint Services Commendation Medal, and AF Commendation Medal with one OLC. Immediately upon retiring Don accepted a position with Teleprocessing Industries, Inc. in Middletown, VA where he managed their Plant Engineering function. The Western Union Corporation absorbed his company and then Don continued with Western Union until his final retirement in 1990. After retiring from the Air Force, and while working for Western Union, Don began to paint once again. He exhibited his watercolors in various art shows and galleries. He won numerous awards, ribbons, and prizes and has more than 800 paintings in private collections around the United States. Nancy, his wife of more than 57 years, passed away in 2010. He is survived by a son, Steven, a daughter, Laurel Sheren and four grandchildren. Burial with military honors will be held at Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, DC at a later date.
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