LUMBERTON — Gary Mangum knew from his days of playing pickup football with his brother and the “Village Boys” growing up along Pala Verde Drive in LaFayette Village just what he wanted to be in life.
“He wanted from the fourth grade to be a sportswriter,” Mike Mangum would remind us of what his older brother dreamed of one day becoming, and how proud Gary Mangum was in the late 1970s when learning he would study journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Gary was a Tar Heels fan, and he was happy when he was accepted into the School of Journalism.”
No matter the sport, Gary Mangum knew the athletes for just about every team, be it the Major League baseball players, the professional football and basketball athletes, the college teams of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and their statistics.
“He knew every player,” Mike Mangum said at Gary Mangum’s celebration of life on Oct. 18. “He would announce the game. He would announce the whole game.”
A 1977 Douglas Byrd High School graduate with a 1981 college journalism degree in hand, Gary Mangum brought his love of athletics to the old The Fayetteville Times sports department’s morning newspaper in the 1980s, where he covered the high school and college games throughout the Cape Fear Region. And he could tell a story of the old Stoneybrook Steeplechase at the Walsh Horse Farm in Southern Pines with a passion, too.
He was more than a writer and a reporter.
He could design the Times sports pages with equal aplomb in what would become his journalism forte later at newspapers including the Tribune-Star in Terre Haute, Indiana; The St. Petersburg Times in St. Petersburg, Florida; The Orlando Sun in Orlando, Florida; The Greenville News in Greenville, South Carolina; and The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee.
He retired in 2021, moving to this Robeson County town so that he and his wife could be closer to family. But the call of journalism still was in his heart. Once journalism and storytelling are in your blood, if you will, it just never seems to go away.
One of us at CityView
“Hey, Bill, I’m living in Lumberton,” he called a couple of years back, wondering if he might do some correspondence work with our CityView digital publication and monthly CityView Magazine. “I’m still hoping to be able to cover some events for your company and work with you again.”
No need for second thoughts and telling Lorry Williams, our late managing editor who developed our digital publication, that Gary Mangum would be a welcome addition to our correspondent roster and that he would provide professional storytelling for our subscribers and readers.
He didn’t disappoint.
He could research a story.
He knew the art of the interview.
He knew the written word.
Whatever the assignment, Gary Mangum put his heart and soul into it, and his CityView work was recognized three times by the N.C. Press Association, including his feature in August 2023 about Jackson Loftin, the 23-year-old Fayetteville Woodpeckers’ infielder/outfielder known for his base-stealing skills.
“I enjoyed this feature,” the NCPA judge wrote about the feature titled “Man of Steal” which earned first place in the Sports Feature Writing category. “It is very nicely done. It flows well. I appreciate quotes from multiple sources. It does a great job of telling the story of a young ball player. The strong writing and organization moved this to the top of the heap. Fine work!”
There would be other NCPA awards, including Gary Mangum’s work a year before on the Carolina Bible College 50th anniversary.
He would bring our readers other stories, from the East Carolina vs. North Carolina baseball game at Segra Stadium downtown that drew 6,228 fans; former UNC basketball coach Roy Williams in Fayetteville to promote Fayetteville Area Habitat for Humanity; and the Bicentennial of Gen. Marquis de Lafayette’s Farewell Tour celebration.
His final story published in this month’s “Arts & Culture” edition of CityView Magazine about the 50th anniversary of the Arts Council of Fayetteville/Cumberland County, where he interviewed Marvin Weaver, the council’s first executive director from 1973-1977, and other directors including Carolyn Cone Weaver (1977-1989), Deborah Martin Mintz (2000-2019) and Bob Pinson, the current president and chief executive officer.
“I am so sorry to hear about Gary Mangum,” Pinson said. “Recently, I had the privilege of being interviewed by Mr. Mangum for an article he was creating on the Arts Council’s 50th anniversary. During the interview, it became very obvious to me that he was interested in reporting more than just historical dates and events.
“Gary was looking to paint a picture in the reader’s mind of the impact that the Arts Council has had across the community and what the direction is for the future. His questions were always more focused on the positive impact on people’s lives as he was always looking for the story behind the story.
“Mr. Mangum’s finished article is a testament to his lifelong work as a journalist,” Pinson said, “and a must-read by all.”
‘I never saw fear in his eyes’
The tumor, Gary Mangum learned, was malignant, and aggressive.
“When he had the CT scan, the cancer was everywhere,” Mike Mangum told us. “He was in a lot of pain.”
Mike Mangum reminded us, too, of two brothers growing up the sons of Robert and Bonnie Mangum, and where Mt. Gilead Baptist Church was a part of their lives.
“That’s how our mama and daddy raised us,” he said. “When we were growing up, Gary accepted Jesus Christ as his savior.”
The brothers recently spent time together reminiscing about their youth, their paths in life and Gary Mangum’s health.
“We talked about a lot of stuff,” Mike Mangum, 62, said. “And he emphatically said, ‘I believe in Jesus as my savior, and I will have eternal life.’ I never saw fear in his eyes.”
Gary Edward Mangum died peacefully on Oct. 12 at his Lumberton home, his wife, Wanda, of 32 years holding his hand.
He was 65.
Mike Mangum would look toward a sister-in-law with a broken heart on Oct. 18 for this celebration of life at Floyd Mortuary & Crematory Memorial Chapel, where Maydha Devarajan, CityView’s interim executive editor, and I would present Wanda Mangum with her husband’s NCPA award for his words of a Minor League baseball player.
Gary Mangum, you understand, was one of us.
Epilogue
A brother-in-law would turn his words toward a grieving widow.
“Wanda, Gary is in heaven,” Mike Mangum would say. “He’s brand-new. He’s perfect. God chose to heal him up there. He’s in heaven, and he’s good. We’re going to miss him, but he is at peace with the Lord. No more pain. No more suffering. He is at peace.”
And in the CityView executive offices along Breezewood Avenue in Fayetteville, Gary Mangum always will be remembered as a journalist, and a part of us.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
We’re in our third year of CityView Today, and so many of you have been with us from day one in our efforts to bring the news of the city, county, community and Cape Fear region each day. We’re here with a purpose — to deliver the news that matters to you.
