Massachusetts’ oldest man and its oldest living military veteran died Nov. 16 in Canton at 108 years old.
Morris “Morry” Casso was also the 15th oldest man in the United States at the time of his death and had survived cancer.
Born in Roxbury on Jan. 28, 1917, to Russian immigrants Sadie and David Casso, he graduated from Roxbury Memorial High School for Boys in 1934. He went on to work at his father’s dry cleaning and tailor shop, Casson Brothers, in Boston, eventually taking over the business. His clientele ranged from high-profile figures like Henry Kissinger and author John Updike to local residents. He ran the shop until his retirement in 1982.
Casso enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and was assigned to the Signal Corps. He was selected for a small group sent to Chicago to study the Audion Vacuum Tube, a device used to amplify and modulate electromagnetic signals for radio frequency transmission. His unit deployed to the China/Burma Air Theater, where they established safe frequency channels for Army Air Corps aircraft. He completed his service in early 1946.
Known for his sense of humor, Casso often shared stories from his childhood. His family recalled one favorite: “His mother, a Russian Jewish immigrant, called him ‘Bubbeleh’ so much that it wasn’t until his first day of school, at the age of 5, that he learned his name was Morris.”
Following retirement, Casso dedicated himself to community service. He worked as a Massachusetts Ombudsman, helping resolve issues for residents in nursing homes. He volunteered for nearly 20 years at New England Sinai Hospital in Stoughton and was active in several organizations, including the Knights of Pythias and the Sharon Men’s Club. He also served as president of B’nai B’rith.
Casso was married to his first wife, Rose, for 36 years until her death in 1985. They had two sons, Mark and Alan. In 2001, he married Bernice “Niecy” Karlsberg. The couple lived in Sharon before moving to Brightview Senior Living in Canton in 2022.
He is survived by his wife, Bernice; sons Mark Casso and his wife Beth, and Alan Casso; stepchildren Mark Karlsberg and his wife Linda, and Ilene Karlsberg-Gerstein and her husband Bill Gerstein; nine grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.
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