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

SOUTHAMPTON, NY — The sign was posted in the window of a longtime jewelry shop 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 last days.

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

"With a very heavy heart we are saddened to announce that this will be our last month in business here on Jobs Lane," the sign said. "We thank you for 56 years of support and love."

Sadly, Dori said, her father's health had "taken a turn and we are not able to sustain the retail location anymore."

The grief is heavy as she speaks of her father: "He never really retired; the store and he are dying together."

A GoFundMe page, "Aide for the Elliots" was created by Friends of the Elliots.

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

But, the page added that the Elliots, like many during the past year, had fallen on difficult times and must close the brick-and-mortar shop.

Sandy, even their beloved poodle grew ill and crossed the Rainbow Bridge, the page said.

Her father, Dori told Patch, became sick in May. "Things began to crumble all around quickly including the loss of our beloved poodle Sandy, who didn’t have a will to hang on 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 home hospice care. Dori and the family are trying to make Lee as comfortable as possible, but one person can only do so much. The Elliots need to hire an experienced, full-time caretaker to assist in making Lee as comfortable as possible during his remaining time with us. After serving the community for so many years, we ask the community to come together in aiding this incredible family in this tragic time."

Dori said she and her mother Terry are doing everything they can "to keep our heads up, but to say we’re having a rough time is an understatement."

According to a description of the shop: Lee Elliot, known for his unique handmade jewelry designs, started "serious jewelry making and design in the early 1960s in Greenwich Village."

Her father, Dori said, was a leathersmith and sandal maker in Greenwich Village in the 1960s before finding his love for metal. He began crafting belt buckles, a passion that ultimately led him to jewelry-making. He was just 18 when his journey began.

Her mother Terry and her father moved from New York City to Southampton together, "by her recommendation, when I was born in 1988," Dori said. "They were together, married and my parents, for 30 years. And now post-divorce, they remain close friends." Her mother, Dori said, is her father's other caregiver.

Her father's many years of designing jewelry shaped her own destiny, Dori said.

"Many of his early unique jewelry designs are still ahead of their time today," the business' website said. "There is much asymmetry in his original sculptural pieces of jewelry. Some stones seem to float and balance the piece. . . Each piece is handmade and many are one-of-a-kind. He has a true love for his work."

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

"She knew then that she wanted to be a jeweler like her parents. . .At 17 Dori began to watch her mom Terry Elliot create intricate wire wrappings of precious metal and gemstones, and soon started her own line of beaded and wire-wrapped gemstone jewelry."

Losing the shop as her father battles his illness is devastating to her family, Dori said. "It’s all I’ve ever known. I was born into it, literally. It’s like my big sibling. Losing the store is like losing more than a person."

Over the years, Dori and her father worked side by side, designing pieces. And when he passes, she will shepherd his dream into the future, she said, creating an e-commerce website to continue offering the jewelry, crafted with his own molds, that was the shining hallmark of his creative life.

"He is my hero," Dori said. "I will carry on his legacy forever through his jewelry — and his artistry, that will live on through me eternally."

Her father, she said, is spending his final hours at home, gazing out of Big Fresh Pond. "He has the most peaceful view ever," she said. "It’s exactly what he wanted."

To donate to the GoFundMe, click here.

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