Sanford ‘Sandy’ Feld

Veteran, 85Sanford “Sandy” Feld, 85, of Carbondale, Ill., died Sunday, April 11, 2004 in Carbondale.

Mr. Feld was born May 2, 1918 on Chicago’s west side to Samuel and Jennie Gershon Feld. In 1936, he graduated from Hirsch High School in Chicago, where he was captain of the baseball and basketball teams.

Because of the Great Depression, he turned down a full athletic scholarship to Loyola University to attend Fox Business College, where he met his future wife, Dorothy Jewett. They were married in Chicago in 1941, and celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary March 22. She survives, living in Carbondale.

Mr. Feld was a decorated World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Army as a rifleman in Company K, 351st Infantry, 88th Blue Devils Division. He participated in the Rome, Arno and Northern Appenines campaigns in Italy in 1944 and was awarded the Purple Heart.

Mr. Feld was one of the top Buick salesmen in Chicago for years, and received many Buick Salesmaster plaques and prizes. In 1972, he and his wife moved to Carbondale and with their son, Robert, opened a submarine sandwich shop. They operated the restaurant until Mr. Feld retired in 1984. A sandwich on the menu was named after him. In the early 1990s, Mr. Feld became a minor celebrity for a time, after appearing in a television commercial for the Buick dealership in Carbondale.

In Chicago, Mr. Feld was an active member of many civic organizations, including the South Shore Lions Club and the Southeast Boys Baseball Association. In Carbondale, he belonged to the Rotary Club and was named a Paul Harris Fellow.

He enjoyed sports, especially golf, and in his younger years, he liked to play handball and played on a softball team. Family members say he was a skillful poker player and an avid horse racing fan.

In addition to his wife and his son, Robert Feld of Chicago, Mr. Feld is survived by a daughter, Sandra Swain of Astoria; five grandchildren, Mara Feld of Madison, Wis., Jordan Feld of Tucson, Ariz., Chloe Swain of Seattle, Preston Swain of Portland and Marina Parr and her husband, Don Parr, of Oak Harbor, Wash.; a great-grandson, Jackson Parr of Oak Harbor; a brother, Gerald Feld of Homewood, Ill.; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

A grandson, Sanford Swain, died in 1999. A brother, William Feld, also died earlier.

Memorial services were held in Carbondale and Chicago, with burial at Cedar Park Cemetery in Calumet Park, Ill.