Published November 27, 2020

By GAIL LOWE

MIKE SIMONELLI

MELROSE —When Michael (Mike) Simonelli was a high school student, he worked part-time at a textile mill, a chicken store and a local market where he made deliveries to customers. But none of these jobs would lead him to the career he enjoyed for 68 years.

Like his father, Mike was destined to become a barber. For 63 years he worked at his own shop on Main Street in Melrose —Mike’s Barber Shop. When the building that housed his business was torn down, he worked for five additional years at Plaza Barber Shop a short distance away.

Today, Mike continues to enjoy his craft one day a week at Brightview Senior Living in downtown Wakefield where he has lived for the past two years. When he first moved to Brightview, Mike commuted back and forth every day to his barber shop in Melrose. But when the coronavirus pandemic began to ravage the globe, he could no longer travel to and from the shop.

But fate stepped in this past July when the head barber position at Brightview became available. In the blink of an eye, he found himself cutting hair again, but with great caution. He and his customers both wear masks, and he works alone in the on-site hair salon where only one person at a time is allowed to enter. Mike plans to continue cutting hair for as long as his health is good.

The “Barber of Brightview” learned to cut hair at his father’s knee while growing up in Lawrence. He has wonderful memories of those days when he played horseshoes and various sports games with his friends.Before picking up the tools of his trade, he served in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany for two years. Eventually, he met his wife Mary and they raised two children together—daughter Catherine, a resident of East Boston and son Michael, who died at age 38 from complications of diabetes even after his father donated one of his kidneys.

After serving in the Army, Mike went to school for barbering before working at the Main Street location in Melrose.

Widowed since 2011, his new career at Brightview adds purpose to his days when residents come to the on-site hair salon for their appointments.

When not working, Mike enjoys a game of chess, walking on a treadmill and using his iPad. But his favorite activity revolves around family.

“I connect with my daughter and granddaughter often,” he said. “Catherine and I visited many assisted living places, but Brightview was my top choice. Still is.”