Morris Berson, founder of Lady Grace stores, dies

MALDEN, Mass. – Morris Berson, longtime resident of Malden and founder of the Lady Grace Intimate Apparel chain, died April 2 at the Heathwood nursing home in Chestnut Hill. He was 97.

Born in 1904 in Bangor, Maine, Berson gained much of his business acumen traveling with his father, a peddler. He graduated from Bangor High School and studied for one year at New York University before dropping out to pursue a full-time career in sales. “If you turned my class upside down,” he was fond of saying, “I was always ranked number one!”

After leaving school, Berson joined the Even-ful Co., a major supplier of brassieres and corsets. Over the next decade, he traveled extensively to service corset shops throughout New England and New York.

In 1937, an account in Manchester, N.H., ceased operations. The local manager asked Berson to assume control. With $90 of savings and help from his friends, he was able to build dressing rooms and a counter. Merchandise was advanced through his many contacts, and the Lady Grace chain was born.

Not long thereafter, a second store opened in Mattapan, Mass. Berson eventually left his sales job to concentrate on expanding his retail chain. Over the next two decades, stores were opened in downtown areas throughout New England including Malden, Brookline, Lowell and Haverhill in Massachusetts; Nashua, N.H.; and Portland, Maine. When malls began to hurt business in downtown locales, Berson, along with his son, Steven, transitioned the Lady Grace stores to many of the major malls in New England.

Berson continued to work at Lady Grace until well into his 90s. Today, the company operates 13 stores in addition to a catalog and Internet business.

Berson was a large contributor to many charitable causes. He was married for more than 60 years to the late Beatrice Vale. He leaves a daughter, Phyllis (Green) of Chestnut Hill; his son, Steven, of Swampscott; seven grandchildren, and 13 great-grandchildren.