Morton "Mort" D. Berenson

AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZER

Morton David Berenson, a pillar of the Boston region, passed peacefully at the Stanley R. Tippett Hospice Home in Needham, MA on November 27, 2020. He was 88. Berenson was a graduate of Roxbury Memorial High School in 1949 and served in the National Guard as a Major from 1951-1971, both at Camp Drum in NY and at the Commonwealth Armory. He was a Faneuil Hall “Original”, having launched M. Berenson Company in 1960, specializing in prime meats for wholesale and retail. An expert in roasting the perfect turkey, Mr. Berenson often appeared on local television and in print, especially around the holidays. When Faneuil Hall Marketplace was renovated in 1976 Mort rebranded as The Prime Shoppe, which changed its focus to a specialty retail and quick-service venue until he sold it in 1990. In fact, working at Faneuil Hall was a family affair - his late wife, Louise Berenson founded a pushcart business, Purple Panache, Ltd., his sons Brett and Marc worked with him and he named Heidi’s Natural Poultry after his daughter. He was Chairman of the Faneuil Hall Marketplace Tenants Association and served on the Advertising and Merchandising Committees. Mr. Berenson also channeled his passion for food preparation by conducting classes over the years, most notably at the Boston Center for Adult Education in a course entitled, The Mystique of Meat. In fact, he was ahead of the healthy food trend, when he developed turkey burgers as an alternative to beef. And again, when he developed Mort’s Magic Mix seasoning, an addition to the product line.

Mr. Berenson was passionate about giving back to his community. He served in the 1960s as a Brookline Town Meeting member; was continuously active in Temple Beth Zion of Brookline for more than 60 years; he was a Youth Advisor for the George Gershwin AZA Chapter/B’nai Brith Youth Organization in the 1950s and was an Election Day Poll Volunteer for 20 years in Newton, MA. Circa 2016, he joined the Steering Committee of the Forbes Building Tenant Association of Jamaica Plain, MA. The group serves as a liaison between building management and tenants - playing a major role in the effort to preserve affordable housing at the Forbes and in the City of Boston. Expanding on that interest, he was involved with the Massachusetts Alliance of HUD Tenants, a MA Non-Profit Corporation. An avid golfer, he regularly played on the Cape where he also enjoyed visiting with family and friends. He is survived by children, Heidi Berenson of Mashpee, MA and Marc Berenson and daughter-in-law Ruthie (Zerwitz) Berenson of Baltimore, MD, an older brother, Leonard Colten of Hull, MA; an older sister, Beatrice Cooper of Randolph, MA, as well as his two beloved granddaughters, Meira Bracha and Tamar Nechama, who were the light of his life.

He was predeceased by his son, Brett, his younger brother, Stanley Colten, his sister, Bernice Etcoff, and his late former wife, Louise Zelda (Freeman) Berenson.

Arrangements under the direction of Levine Chapels, www.levinechapels.com