Longtime tailor dies just one month after retiring

BY LEIGH BLANDER

Charles Katsoulakos, a beloved tailor in Marblehead for 55 years, passed away on Jan. 15, one month after retiring. He was 96 years old.

Katsoulakos was reluctant to retire. There was only one thing he was looking forward to. “I have a chair in the trunk of my car and I will go to Devereux Beach and sit there,” he said.

In an interview with the Marblehead Current right before he reitred, Katsoulakos said he had served “hundreds and hundreds” of customers over the decades. He saw dramatic swings in fashion, but never had a favorite style.

“For me, it doesn’t make a difference. I’ll narrow the legs or shorten the hemline to modernize.” He enjoyed working on prom and wedding dresses the most.

“Those beautiful dresses, I love seeing them,” he said. Many of his customers sent him photos of themselves wearing the outfits he altered.

One day last fall, a woman came in to pick up a jacket Katsoulakos had repaired.

“It’s my son’s jacket,” she said to him. “He doesn’t even wear it anymore, but I want it to last forever.” She left with a smile on her face.

Katsoulakos grew up in Athens, Greece, and spoke with a thick accent. He left school when he was 14. “The Germans and Italians occupied the city, and the schools closed.”

TAILOR, P. A2