Michael Mungo Passes Away

The Midlands is saying goodbye to real estate developer and USC trustee, Michael J. Mungo. If you drive around most any area in Lexington and Richland counties, it’s hard not to find a Mungo home. The home-building empire that started in 1954 has lost its founder. Michael Mungo died of heart failure Sunday at the age of 82. Steven Mungo says, “I think his imprint will forever be on all of the suburbs of Columbia.” Steven and his brother Stewart took over the family business when their father retired in 1978. Steven says his dad instilled in them the value of hard work and taking risks. Steven says, “He (Michael Mungo) did things that by today’s standards would be out there and was successful at it. Michael Mungo was also dedicated to his alma mater, USC, serving on the board of trustees, starting in 1968. He was also on the founding board of the Harvest Hope Food Bank, and involved in Christ Central Ministries and Columbia’s free medical clinic. But Steven says his father may be best known for his flowers. Steven says, “He (Michael Mungo) spent countless hours in his yard and people used to ask him, ‘Who does your yard work?’ He had a guy that helped him, but back in the old days when he was physically able, he did most of it himself.” Michael Mungo built his home on a lot of land that was given to him as a wedding gift. It was the first home in what Stewart says was his father’s proudest subdivision, Whitehall. Mungo’s company went on to build over 100 more subdivisions in the Midlands, but Mungo never moved from the home in Whitehall. The Mungo family will hold a visitation Tuesday night from 5-7 p.m. at Dunbar Chapel in Irmo. Michael Mungo’s funeral will be Wednesday at 11 am at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. For more on this story, click on the video player below.