NY Barber, Known As 'World's Oldest,' Dies At Age 108

Anthony Mancinelli died on Thursday, Sept. 19 at his Orange County home in New Windsor. He was 108.

Mancinelli started cutting hair at age 11 years old.

Remarkably, he kept at it for almost a century. 

In 2007, he was cited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the “world’s oldest barber” -- a designation repeated each year since then.

Mancinelli was born March 2, 1911 in Montemilone, Italy. The son of John and Savino Madrisi Mancinelli. Anthony came to America in September of 1919, on the ship Caserta. He lived with a relative in Newburgh and began cutting hair full-time by the time he was 12, when a haircut cost 25 cents. 

A World War II veteran and 76-year member of the American Legion Post 1796, Mancinelli annually was grand marshal of the New Windsor Memorial Day Parade. 

He was predeceased by his wife of 69 years, Carmella. He had two sons, Robert and Anthony Jr. Anthony Jr. predeceased him. He was predeceased by his sister, Mary Hawley, and six brothers: Michael, Joseph, Rocco, Frank, Lewis and Albert.

He is survived by his son, Robert Mancinelli, four grandchildren, several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, six nieces and four nephews. 

“I advise a lot of people not to quit working,” Mancinelli told CBS News in a profile produced late last year (see second image above). “Keep busy. Some retire too soon, and they get old fast.”

Visitation will be on Monday, Sept. 23 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Brooks Funeral Home in Newburgh. A mass will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. at St. Francis Church in Newburgh. Burial will follow in Woodlawn Cemetery in New Windsor. 

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