Alan Leopold Obituary
Alan J. Leopold, aged 74, of Olympia Fields, IL died peacefully on Sunday, August 24, 2025 at South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, IL after a short illness.
He was the beloved husband of Nancy (nee Johnson) and loving father of Zachary (Julie) Leopold. His dear brother is Larry (Maria) Leopold of Seattle, WA. He leaves much loved brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, many nieces, nephews, great-nieces/nephews and cousins. Alan was preceded in death by his parents Sidney and Miriam Leopold.
Alan was born in Chicago, but grew up in Fresno, CA. He began a love of Classics while taking high school Latin. He received a BA in Classics from the University of California at Santa Cruz. He and Nancy met in college and were married for 52 years. He spent a Junior Year Abroad in Birmingham, England and had a great time traveling around Europe during school breaks. After marriage he and Nancy moved to Chicago where Alan received an MA in Classical Languages and Literature from The University of Chicago. He also enjoyed working at the Regenstein Library on campus. After the birth of Zachary, Alan attended Rosary College in River Forest, IL where he earned an MA in Library Science and where he taught cataloging as an adjunct professor for several years.
His first professional library position was Rare Book Cataloger at The Newberry Library in Chicago where he worked for 35 years, eventually becoming Director of Collection Services. He was proud of The Newberry and its mission and enjoyed his many colleagues over the years.
Alan was an avid reader. In addition to keeping up with publications in the field of Classics, he loved science fiction in both book and movie/TV form. He was a Star Trek fan through its many iterations. He also enjoyed DC comics, especially the characters of Superman and The Flash.
He was a loving human dad to all the dogs who were part of the family over the years, 5 in all.
Donations may be made in his memory to:
South Suburban Humane Society
21800 Central Ave, Matteson, IL 60443
southsuburbanhumane.org
The Newberry Library
60 W. Walton St., Chicago, IL 60610
newberry.org
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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