Ruth Woodroffe Gangel ’47 and Frank Gangel

A World War II United States Army veteran, Frank Gangel was a member of the 87th Division, 312th Medical Battalion. He served in the campaigns of the Ardennes, Central Europe and Rhineland.

Ruth Woodroffe Gangel in her academic regalia standing in front of an Adelphi College est. in 1896 sign.

Ruth Woodroffe married Frank Gangel shortly after she earned her nursing degree from Adelphi. A member of the first graduating class of the Adelphi School of Nursing, she began her career as a visiting nurse. Ruth, who earned two master’s degrees from Columbia University, rose to the position of commissioner of the Nassau County Department of Health.

Frank, who worked as a millwright with his father, dedicated more than two decades to the Fair Harbor Fire Department. Over the course of his distinguished service, he ascended the ranks to second assistant chief and captain.

Former residents of Lonelyville, Fire Island, and Wantagh, New York, the late Ruth and Frank Gangel were actively involved in the communities in which they lived. Frank served as president of the Lonelyville Waterville Board District and the Taxpayers Association. He was also the chairman of the Lonelyville Board of Fire Commissioners. Both graduates of Wellington C. Mepham High School, they were generous supporters of their alma mater.

The Gangels’ endowed scholarship generates more than $50,000 each year in funds for nursing students.