Paul Leeds, 86, a longtime Highland Park resident, jewelry store owner and musician, died Thursday, Jan. 25, in Arizona after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Mr. Leeds, whose parents came to Chicago from Russia, helped support his poor family by playing the drums in dance halls while attending Marshall High School. Mr. Leeds met his late wife, Bernice, in a dance hall, and the two married in 1935. When he was drafted during World War II, Mr. Leeds was sent to Ft. Sheridan to serve as an Army instructor. When he left the service, he was hired as director of the Chicago Institute of Watchmaking, a business that provided military personnel with training so they could find jobs after the war. Mr. Leeds learned the craft while acting as director and eventually became a certified gemologist. He settled in Highland Park and opened Leeds Jewelers downtown, which he ran for 40 years. Mr. Leeds once met Ike Cole, the brother of Nat King Cole, in a carwash and traveled with him for a while trying to help him get his singing career started, said his daughter, Toby Hollander. “He was very friendly, and everyone in town knew and liked him,” his daughter said. “I remember he kept a telephone by the front door of his store so that kids could come in and call their parents and let them know where they were.” Mr. Leeds had a radio program on WEEF-AM 1430 in Highland Park for a few years, and he wrote a weekly events column for the Highland Park News called “Keeping Time With Paul Leeds.” Mr. Leeds and his wife moved to Arizona about 12 years ago in their retirement. Mr. Leeds was a past president of the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce. Other survivors include two brothers, Milton and Jack. Services for Mr. Leeds were held in Arizona.
