Ralph Joseph Manglass, 97, the longtime owner of the Butterfield Pharmacy in Cold Spring, died Sept. 7.
He was born Aug. 17, 1927, in Newburgh, the son of Guisseppe and Teresa (Coumita) Manglass (Mangiacasale). He graduated in 1945 from Newburgh Free Academy and was drafted into the U.S. Army on his 18th birthday, the day the Japanese surrendered to end World War II. He liked to say, “They knew I was coming.”
After 20 months of service as a clerk typist helping discharge members of the greatest generation, he returned home and worked briefly at his parent’s tavern before taking advantage of the GI Bill and attending Purdue University.
After graduating in 1951 with a pharmacy degree, he worked as a pharmacist in Wappingers Falls and Fishkill. He met Mary Anne Stevens during that time; they were married on Jan. 16, 1954.
They moved to Indiana so Ralph could pursue a graduate degree at Purdue, but the weather didn’t agree with Mary’s New England temperament, so they came back east. The couple settled in Beacon and then Fishkill.
In 1963 Ralph opened Butterfield Pharmacy in Cold Spring, supported by the immense generosity and loyal friendship/partnership of the late Stanley Greenwald. In the first year, Ralph commuted seven days a week between Fishkill and Cold Spring. (The store hours were 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday to Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays.)
After that, Ralph and Mary and their two young children moved to an apartment behind the store, which was owned by the landlord, Don Yannitelli, another generous soul who built the house on Benedict Road that the family would live in until the 1990s. (He said, “Pay me when you can.”)
During more than 30 years at Butterfield Pharmacy, Ralph started with himself and one cashier/clerk, and eventually employed his wife, his children, nieces and nephews, neighbors, several generations of Cold Spring and Garrison high schoolers and other residents in what was a fixture in Cold Spring and known by many longtime residents as “the new drugstore.” Ralph retired in the early 1990s and the space was taken over by Drug World.
During their retirement, Ralph and Mary moved from Cold Spring but stayed in touch with friends, particularly through activities with Philipstown Senior Citizens. They settled first in East Fishkill, in a two-family house with their daughter Marie and her family and then in a senior living complex in Beacon.
Always sporting a “No Place for Hate” pin, Ralph was the kind of neighbor who was always helping everyone: cleaning off cars and moving them during a snowstorm, and one time running back into the building during a fire to help the “older” people get out. (He was 90 years old.) For this courageous act, he received an award from the fire company and a scolding to never do this again.
Their later years were spent in the Rhinebeck area. They spent much time with family and seldom missed an opportunity to visit a casino. Ralph and Mary lived independently until 2023 and enjoyed the loving care of their daughters, who lived close by during their later years.
Mary died Aug. 8. Ralph’s siblings and their spouses — James Manglass, Betty Torracca (Warren), Lena Farina (Nick) and Joseph Manglass — also died earlier. He is survived by his children, Ralph Jr., Marie and Amy, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and Joseph’s wife, Teresa Manglass.
Visitation will be held Sept. 27 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Clinton Funeral Home, 21 Parrott St., in Cold Spring. A Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for Sept. 28 at 9:30 a.m. at Our Lady of Loretto, 24 Fair St. in Cold Spring, followed by interment at Cold Spring Cemetery. Following the service, a celebration will be held at the American Legion, 10 Cedar St. in Cold Spring.
Ralph and Mary were kind and giving people who knew how to have fun.