Jack Leedahl remembered as a shoe salesman who walked tall

To his customers, Jack Leedahl was “the shoe man.”

“When we were out, people would see him and say, “Hey, there’s the shoe man,” said Glenna, Jack’s wife of 31 years. “He had such a loyal following. He treated each customer as an individual. He knew their shoe size as well as their name.”

Leedahl, a member of the National Shoe Retailers Association, died from pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome on Saturday in Altru Hospital. He was 63.

“It’s a big loss for both cities,” said Henry Tweten, East Grand Forks City Council. “There are not too many good old-fashioned merchandisers left.”

Leedahl started his career in shoe sales at the S & L Store in Grafton, N.D. His career continued at the Bootery in Grand Forks, working for Champ Churchill and his son, Dale. After about a year, it was on to Tradehome shoes in Devils Lake, then the shoe departments of Strauss and DeLendrecies in Fargo.

He met Glenna in 1978 in Hutchinson, Minn. They were married in four months and opened a shoe store in St. James, Minn. In 1988, they got a call from Dale Churchill inviting them back to Grand Forks.

Glenna managed Naturalizers from 1988 to 2001 while Jack handled Florsheim. He started a department in Silverman’s before opening Jack’s Shoes in East Grand Forks’ Riverwalk Centre in 2000, which closed in 2007. He and Glenna also opened a second store in the Grand Cities Mall in Grand Forks, which Glenna said she plans to continue operating.

Energetic

When Jack was sleeping in the hospital about a month ago, Glenna said he must have been dreaming about his lifelong business. “All of a sudden he said, ‘Now there’s a good looking shoe,’” she said.

East Grand Forks Mayor Lynn Stauss recalled Leedahl after the 1997 flood.

“He had an abundance of energy,” Stauss said. “He was gifted as a salesman. He picked up on community-minded issues and let you know what he thought.”

A reception for Leedahl is set for 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, followed by a prayer service in Amundson Funeral Home in Grand Forks.

Memorial services are set for 11 a.m. Wednesday in Calvary Lutheran Church in Grand Forks.

Reach Johnson at (701) 780-1262; (800) 477-6572, ext. 262; or send e-mail to jjohnson2@gfherald.com.
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A wonderful life of Jack Leedahl

GrandForksHerald.com