Laguna lost a bright star and true Laguna original on March 1 with the passing of Mary Jo Mancuso. She would have been 80 on March 6.
Mancuso was actively and energetically involved with a host of causes and organizations dating back to 1969, when the family first moved to Laguna, until a major fall-related injury in 2014 confined her to the hospital for most of the year.
Many Laguna people know that the Mancusos owned Giovanni’s from 1969 until 1984, and in that capacity, Mary Jo served as a surrogate mother and guide to many Laguna kids who worked at the store, either in North Laguna or the Main Beach location. She could often be seen sunning herself at Diver’s Cove on a Monday when the store was closed, or even sometimes in the middle of the day if it was not too busy.
As a multi-term president of the Soroptimists, and a member of Laguna Ebell, Mancuso exerted a positive impact both locally and more internationally. She served on scholarship committees that helped many LBHS graduates extend their education. Through Soroptimists International, she supported women’s shelters, scholarships for retraining women, and the promotion of women’s rights internationally. Locally, Mancuso was also a primary force behind Laguna obtaining the first “Jaws of Life” and K-9 patrol. She was actively involved with TOW Neighborhood Watch and greatly enjoyed participating in disaster drills.
Mancuso and husband John were also very involved with the local schools, whether T.O.W. or Thurston PTAs, or the LBHS Boosters. People may remember the many spaghetti dinner fundraisers at Thurston or for the LBHS football team with food provided by Giovanni’s and the Mancusos.
Mancuso also taught religious education for St. Catherine’s in the 1970s, and was involved in the Women’s Council in more recent years. She and her husband sang in St. Catherine’s choir for 25 years.
Daughter Stephanie stayed in Laguna and as her kids attended Laguna schools, Mancuso became re-involved with the Girl Scouts. In that phase of her life of community service, Mancuso oversaw the One Warm Coat collection, which by last count had distributed over 1,000 coats to people in need.
To list all of the people, places and causes to which Mancuso applied her creativity and energy would take another lifetime because she lived each day in service to community. She was a bright, shiny star whose legacy lives on with four surviving daughters (Margaret, Stephanie, Susanne, and Joan), their six children and with all the thousands of children and adults whose lives she touched over the years in a lifetime of service.
A remembrance and space for sharing will be held at O’Connor Mortuary in Laguna Hills on Thursday, March 12 from 5 to 7 pm.
I was one of those many kids who Mary Jo Mancuso had an impact on. She and her husband John were my first employers. I was 14 years old and they taught me how to work and how to be an employee. Important lessons like finding something useful to do when you have no more work left are still with me!
I was just thinking about her today and saw she’d recently passed. I hope her surviving family will enjoy knowing she had a positive impact on local kids who weren’t her own.