Mildred Sasso, 100, of East Street in Great Barrington passed away May 13, 2015 at Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington.
Born June 14, 1914 in Brooklyn, New York she attended Erasmus High School in Brooklyn.
In 1935 Mildred eloped with the boy next door, Joseph L. Sasso, Jr.; witnesses were Agnes Dunn and James Murphy. Joseph was a camper at Camp Half Moon starting in 1923. In 1940 he and Mildred spent their summers on Lake Buel and retired to Great Barrington with their daughter in 1990.
Joseph was a coffee taster for an American coffee company. His work brought the couple to Puerto Prince, Haiti, for two years where his job was to help the Haitians care for the coffee crops. They returned to Brooklyn and started “Sasso Coffee” from their dining room. They both roasted and ground their own personal blend serving hundreds of German ice cream parlors throughout New York and New Jersey.
For fifteen years Mildred worked for Chase Manhattan, Wall Street, on David Rockefeller’s Floor until 1981 when she retired to care for her husband Joe who was crippled from a massive stroke.
She is survived by her four children, six grandchildren, eleven great grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren. James Russell and his wife Valerie, Cody and Shannon, and family were all devoted to her as well as Amanda, Mike, Andrew and Evan.
She was predeceased by her husband Joseph in 1995.
Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, May 18, at 10 a.m. at St. Peter’s Church on Main Street in Great Barrington, conducted by Rev. William H. Murphy, pastor.
The family will receive friends on Sunday, May 17 from 1-4 p.m. at FINNERTY & STEVENS FUNERAL HOME in Great Barrington.
Donations in Mildred’s memory may be made to the Southern Berkshire Volunteer Ambulance Squad through FINNERTY & STEVENS FUNERAL HOME, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. To sign the guest book or send remembrances to her family go to www.finnertyandstevens.com.
