Popular owner of historic Saugus barbershop dies

SAUGUS – George Moriello, one of Saugus’ most popular residents and the owner of the town’s oldest business, has died, his son confirmed Saturday.The longtime Town Meeting Member and owner of George’s Barbershop died in his Saugus home Friday night after a long battle with bone cancer. He was 70, said his son, Mike Moriello.”He loved the people of Saugus, and that’s why he loved being a barber,” Mike Moriello saidPractically everyone in Saugus knew George Moriello, who was fond of talking politics while cutting hair in his 110-year-old Cliftondale Square shop and handing out lollipops to children, say fellow Town Meeting members who spoke to The Daily Item.Mike Moriello said his father was also active in civic life as a member of the Freemasons, the American Legion and Town Meeting.George Moriello is so well-liked by Saugus residents that he was once elected to Town Meeting by write-in when he wasn’t even running, said fellow Precinct 6 Town Meeting Member Sean A. Maltais.”They didn’t want him gone,” Maltais said.George Moriello is survived by his wife, son and daughter and three grandchildren, with whom he was very close to, said Mike Moriello.Read the full story in Monday’s Daily Item.