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Industry, Obituaries

Mary Elizabeth Amatulli of Amatulli & Sons and ORRA Dies at 78

Long-time rug industry veteran Mary Elizabeth Amatulli of Amatulli & Sons and ORRA executive dies at 78.

RugNews.com Editors
5/25/2026
portrait of Mary Elizabeth Amatulli
Mary Elizabeth Amatulli

FLINT ROCK, N.C. -- Mary Elizabeth Amatulli has passed away peacefully in North Carolina after a long illness. She was 78 and a longtime area rug industry executive working alongside her husband Richard P. Amatulli

After their marriage and while on active military duty for NATO in Izmir, Turkey in 1968 and inspired by Mary's love for art history, Richard and Mary founded Amatulli Imports which later became Amatulli & Sons, LLC. While still on active military duty in 1970 they started a wholesale business in New York City exclusively in Turkish rugs. They always sold to members of the military and civilians wherever they were stationed and finally opened their first retail store in New Canaan, Connecticut settling there in 1977.

Mary and Richard moved their New York wholesale business to New Jersey as one of the founders of ORICA (Oriental Rug Industry Center of America) in1984. They expanded their New Canaan retail operation to Norwalk and Ridgefield, Conn., during the period from 1985 through 1998 while adding a home furnishings division.

The couple were active members of the Oriental Rug Retailers of America(ORRA) since 1978. Mary took over administration and bookkeeping of ORRA in 2012 and stayed at the helm until she passed in 2026. Richard remains a trustee and membership chairman.

“We worked side by side as partners in both life and livelihood,” said Rich Amatulli, noting that “as a mom she became the family bookkeeper managing our personal and business finances for her entire life. We were inseparable and complemented each other. For 62 years from our first date on St. Valentine's day 1964 Mary was the love of my life.”

Born at Fort Totten in Queens, New York to John F. Mangan and Alice M. (Leider) Mangan-Mueller, Mary married Richard on December 28, 1966 at Holy Trinity Catholic Chapel at West Point, N.Y. Together they shared fifty-nine years of marriage, raising their three sons, Richard (Laurie) Amatulli of Danbury, Conn.; John Amatulli of Flat Rock, and Christopher Amatulli of Scottsdale, Arizona.

Mary was a loving grandmother to Bella, Gigi, and Ava, who brought her endless joy. She is also survived by her sisters Louise (Michael) Valentino and Jacqueline (Robert) Truet, her brother John Mangan, her dear cousins from the Leider family, and her many nieces and nephews.

Mary came from a proud tradition of service to our nation. Her husband, her father, her brother, and two of her uncles were all West Point graduates. She and Richard were stationed there early in their marriage, where she developed a deep and lasting connection to the Academy and its community. Throughout her life, she remained close with Rich’s West Point Class of 1966, treasuring those friendships and honoring the bonds forged through shared service and sacrifice.

Following a Funeral Mass celebrated at Holy Trinity Catholic Church at West Point, NY on April 28, Mary was laid to rest at the historic West Point Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to Tunnel To Towers Foundation (t2t.org).
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