Beloved LI Jeweler Closes Up Shop, Faces Final Days: 'He Is My Hero'

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — The sign went up in the window of a longtime jewelry store on Jobs Lane in Southampton in late July, a sad testament to a chapter closing after years of dedicated service to longtime customers as the business' beloved owner faces his final days.

The note, written by Dori Elliot, 33, was posted in the window of Lee Jewelers, where Dori and her father Lee, 78, left a long legacy of not only handcrafted, precious jewelry but also a love of the local community.

“It is with a very heavy heart that we regret to announce that this will be our last month in business here on Jobs Lane,” the sign said. “Thank you for 56 years of support and love.”

Unfortunately, Dorrie said, her father's health “had taken a turn and we are no longer able to maintain the retail location.”

The sadness is heavy as she talks about her father: “He never really retired; the shop and him die together.”

A GoFundMe page, “Aide for the Elliots” has been set up by Friends of the Elliots.

“Lee Jewelers has served the community for over 56 years. Owned and operated by father-daughter team Lee and Dori Elliot, Lee Jewelers has provided the community with handcrafted treasures that represent love and friendship in style. From the moment they walk into the store you'd be greeted with Dory's magnetic smile or a sweet hug from the family's beloved pet, Sandy, while Lee was hard at work in the back, making magic,” the page said.

But the page added that Elliots, like many over the past year, had fallen on hard times and had to close the bricks and mortar store.

Sandy, even their beloved poodle got sick and crossed the Rainbow Bridge, the page said.

Her father, Dory told Patch, got sick in May. “Things began to fall apart quickly, including the loss of our beloved poodle Sandy, who was in no mood to be without the shop or my dad.”

And now, the GoFundMe said, “Lee's health has taken a turn for the worse and he has entered hospice care. Dori and the family are trying to make Lee as comfortable as possible, but one person can only so much. The Elliots need to hire an experienced, full-time caretaker to help make Lee as comfortable as possible during his remaining time with us. After serving the community for so many years, we are asking the community to come together to help this incredible family at this tragic time.”

Dorrie said she and her mother Terri are doing their best “to keep our heads up, but to say we're going through a tough time is an understatement.”

According to a store description: Lee Elliot, known for his unique handcrafted jewelry designs, began “serious jewelry making and design in the early 1960s in Greenwich Village.”

Her father, Dorrie said, was a tanner and sandal maker in Greenwich Village in the 1960s before he found his love for metal. He began making belt buckles, a passion that eventually led him to jewelry making. He was only 18 years old when he started his journey.

Terri's mother and father moved from New York to Southampton together, “on her recommendation, when I was born in 1988,” Dorrie said. “My parents were together, married, for 30 years. And now after the divorce, they remain close friends.” Her mother, Dory said, is her father's other caregiver.

Her father's many years of jewelry design shaped her own destiny, Dorrie said.

“Many of his early unique jewelry designs are still ahead of their time today,” the company's website said. “There is a lot of asymmetry in his authentic sculptural jewelry. Some stones seem to float and balance the piece… Each piece is handcrafted and many are unique. He has a true love for his work.”

Dory, the description added, attended her first American Craft Council show at eight days old and began working at the Southampton store at 14.

“She knew then that she wanted to be a jeweler like her parents… At 17 Dory began watching her mom Terri Elliott create intricate wire wraps from precious metals and gemstones and soon started her own line of beaded gemstones and wire jewelry.”

Losing the store as her father battles his illness is devastating for her family, Dorrie said. “It's the only one I've ever known. I was born into it, literally. It's like my big brother. Losing the store is like losing more than a person.”

Over the years, Dory and her father worked side by side, designing pieces. And when he passes, he will chase his dream into the future, he said, by creating an e-commerce site to continue offering the jewelry, made with his own molds, that has been the shining hallmark of his creative life.

“He's my hero,” Dory said. “I will carry on his legacy forever through his jewelry – and his art, which will live on through me forever.”

Her father, she said, is spending his final hours at home, looking out over Big Fresh Pond. “It has the most peaceful view ever,” he said. “It's exactly what he wanted.”

To donate to GoFundMe, click here.

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