William “Bill” Mangin, 93, son of William and Clara Mangin, a lifelong resident of Syracuse, New York, passed away at Menorah Park Nursing Home in Syracuse on January 22, 2017.
Bill was born in Syracuse June 2, 1923. He graduated Nottingham High School and earned his BA in Anthropology, Sociology and Mathematics from Syracuse University. He joined the US Navy and as an Ensign, commanded an LST in the Pacific during World War II.
He earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Yale University and did his initial field work in Peru, where he was the Field Director of the Vicos experimental station, and later was appointed to be the Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Peace Corps for Peru during the Kennedy administration. He also was co-director of the Peace Corps training program at Cornell and director of Peace Corps training for Syracuse.
Bill taught 44 years at Syracuse University, making him the longest actively teaching professor in the history of that institution. He also taught at Wellesley College, University of San Marcos, and Syracuse University Madrid Center, and was a member of the Peru Study Group.
He is loved and remembered by the thousands of students whose lives he touched.
His research areas included urbanization, race and ethnicity, education, health, politics, and the use of alcohol. He was involved in local Syracuse Democratic politics and local social agencies, and had a long time interest in the use and study of films and still photography in anthropology. His highly valued photographs of the barriadas of Lima, Peru and his research papers are housed at Cornell University. 
Despite being a talented and skilled researcher, and a highly respected scholar, Bill loved teaching undergraduates above all else, and his work as a teacher benefited a wide range of students over his long career.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia Cridland of Syracuse; sister, Jean Shea of Oneonta; daughters, Laura Mangin Wilk of Stratford, Connecticut and Katrina Mangin of Tucson, Arizona, stepson Ward Cridland and his fiancée Bridget Mer of Hastings, New York and her children, Eren and Kaia; stepdaughter, Lee Cridland of Bolivia; as well as grandchildren, Emma, Hannah and Jake Wilk, and step-grandchild Kathy Cridland. He was pre-deceased by his first wife, Vera (1976).
Calling hours will be 4 to 6 pm, Friday, January 27 at Eaton Tubbs Fayetteville Chapel, 7191 E Genesee St, Fayetteville.
Contributions may be made to Planned Parenthood or the ACLU in lieu of flowers.