Joe Cassa celebrated his 90th birthday Tuesday by doing what he’s done most every weekday for at least 68 years: going to work.
“Joe is the first guy in the office every day,” said Chuck Sather, regional manager at Belfor, a north Denver property restoration company. “He starts a coffee pot for us at 6 or 6:15 a.m., no matter what weather.”
Cassa has no plans to retire.
“He said he keeps working because if he retires, he’ll die,” said his oldest daughter, Jolene Cassa-Granier, whom Joe calls his “chief of staff.”
Not even three bouts with cancer have made Cassa, a military veteran who has been a manager at Belfor for 19 years, consider laying off.
“Look how many people you get to know,” Cassa said. “When you’re home, all you’re looking at is the ceiling.”
Co-workers and four generations of family members threw a surprise birthday party Tuesday for Cassa, who is among an increasing number of senior citizens who choose to remain in the workforce.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of older citizens remaining in the workforce has increased in recent years to levels last seen in the 1970s.
According to the Colorado state demography office, local numbers have been static in the past three years, after inching higher in the past 20 years.
The local data track age groups in five-year segments, up to those from age 80 to 84, and shows that in Denver and surrounding metro-area counties, 5 percent of that age group still works.
While economic considerations always factor into predictions explaining the rise, for Cassa, it’s just about having fun with good people.
“I’ve said many times, I love all of them,” he said. “I’ve had quite an enjoyable time working.”
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372 or yrobles@denverpost.com
