Leo Shear was born on March 12, 1932 and died on March 25, 2014 in Boynton Beach, Florida. He was a long-time Great Neck resident, having moved into the community in April 1968.
Leo was born and raised in the Bronx and graduated from James Monroe High School. He attended Queens College and New York University before enlisting into the Army and serving in Korea as part of the Signal Corps. Upon his return, he began work as a financial analyst at Dun & Bradstreet before becoming a retail stock broker for the rest of his career. In 1970, he moved to the Great Neck office of what was then known as Shields and Company and worked there for the next 34 years.
During that time, Leo made his name as a tireless worker who selected investments based on their long-term growth potential. By 1982, when he was featured in Newsday as one of the 10 best stockbrokers of Long Island he had over 1,000 clients from New York to Vermont and beyond.
Leo was also active in the Great Neck Chapter of the Lions Club, serving as president and contributing to its fundraising for seeing-eye dogs. He also was an active alumnus/donor at Queens College and also contributed to hospice organizations.
Leo is survived by Ruth Shear, his wife of 54 years. He also is survived by his son Jeffrey, married to Rhonda Roper-Shear, and his daughter Melanie Shear. He also is survived by granddaughters Emma Shear and Keira Shear and grandson Eli Shear-Baggish.
