It is not easy to assign one profession to Louis Sells, whose life included stints as a hot dog stand owner, bartender, restaurateur, building inspector and chaplain to the Jewish police officers’ fraternal organization.
But wherever he worked or whatever he did, the Chicago native always held court–listening to and solving problems when he could, other times just shooting the breeze with a wide circle of police officers, judges, attorneys and businessmen.
“He really was a man’s man,” said his wife, Elizabeth Glick-Sells, whom he married six months ago. The two met six years ago at their synagogue, Congregation Bnai Emunah in Skokie.
“He loved people. And he loved helping people,” she said.
Mr. Sells, 86, of Wilmette, died Monday, June 5, in the Hospice of the North Shore in Skokie.
He ran several taverns and restaurants, now defunct, all over Chicago, such as the Black Angus on West Howard Street and the Chit-Chat Lounge, in what was then the Parkview Hotel in Lincoln Park.
His generosity was legendary: In 1952, Mr. Sells conspired with a chef at the Parkview Hotel to cater the wedding banquet for his nephew, Edward Lichter, a “small affair” of 400 people, Lichter said.
“They had platters of lobster and platters of beef, and pasta and chicken and soup, and a sweet table that would fill your kitchen,” Lichter said.
During that time, Mr. Sells became friendly with the police officers at the Lincoln Park police station, who would stop by one of Mr. Sells’ bars for a late-night sandwich and cup of coffee. Eventually, Mr. Sells was named the chaplain of Shomrim, the Jewish police officers’ fraternal organization, attending weddings and other events.
“He should have been a rabbi or a priest,” said a longtime friend, Harry Kudesh, who was a former Chicago police officer and a member of Shomrim. “He was that honorable, that giving and understanding kind of guy.”
In fact, although Mr. Sells was never a police officer, he did what he could to help officers, even advocating for them to higher-ups for a better shift, assignment or even promotion, Kudesh said.
Other times, Mr. Sells used his many contacts to let friends and sometimes strangers know about unpublicized jobs in the city or county. Or he simply sought out people who needed friendship or guidance.
“People would gravitate to him,” Kudesh said. “[It was], `You’ve got a problem? Tell Louie.'”
At the same time, he was known as a “benevolent clown” for his practical jokes.
“At one bar, on Broadway, he had a very friendly little cocker spaniel,” Lichter said. “And his brother had an almost twin cocker spaniel that was the most angry and aggressive dog that was ever built.
“And so, one night, [Mr. Sells] just switched dogs. And as people came up to pet dogs, they almost got their hands bitten off. So that’s the kind of humor he had.”
After retiring from the restaurant business when he was in his 60s, Mr. Sells became a building inspector for Cook County, and for more than 20 years worked out of the Cook County courthouse in Skokie.
Mr. Sells was also an Army veteran of World War II.
Other survivors include a daughter, Adrienne Boivin; a sister, Bess Gordon; and two grandchildren.
Services were Wednesday.
