Paul J. Leaman Jr.

July 1, 1936 – November 21, 2025. He was 89 years old. Mr. Leaman was born and raised in New Orleans, and it was always his home. He graduated from Newman School, attended Tulane University, and started his work life in the insurance business at age 19. He worked for his father’s company, Leaman & Reynolds, for 10 years, then started his own insurance business, Leaman & Company, in 1966. He served customers all over Louisiana and beyond, and reached the top of the insurance profession as a Name member of Lloyds of London. While running this business, with great people to whom he was always loyal, Mr. Leaman also acquired and grew New Orleans Silversmiths, a French Quarter business that he ran for 55 years. He expanded its sales to include English antique silver, jewelry, and collectors’ items from all over the world. His shop also did repairs including silver plating, which led to silver recovery including from scrap X-ray film. This led to more investment in silver recovery, and from this he established a full X-ray supply business, New Orleans X-Ray. This business grew into Diagnostic Concepts, by the late 1990’s the largest X-ray supply dealer in the state. Mr. Leaman’s businesses employed dozens of wonderful people and he never missed a payroll. The historic French Quarter buildings he renovated for his businesses remain lasting contributions to the city.

In addition to all of this, Mr. Leaman was a dedicated fund-raiser for many non-profit causes in the city. He got into this work in 1980, when he headed the Annual Appeal for Metairie Park Country Day School. He subsequently served as the school’s Treasurer and Board Chairman, and co-headed the successful fundraising effort for an expansion campaign. He remained a trustee of the school for over ten years and continued his support for the school long after that. In the early 1980’s, Mr. Leaman helped organize the "Fellows" of the New Orleans Museum of Art to raise funds for the Museum on a continuing basis. He was elected to the Museum Board and co-headed the Museum’s 1988 expansion campaign. He served as Board Chairman from 1994 to 1996, and continued to serve on the Museum’s Board of Trustees for over twenty years. In the late 1990's, he organized and headed the successful fund-raising campaign to build the Museum’s Sculpture Garden. After Katrina, Mr. Leaman organized and chaired the NOMA Katrina Recovery Committee, as well as an international committee to assist in the post-Katrina recovery effort. Mr. Leaman also served on the boards of the Contemporary Arts Center, WRBH (Reading Radio for the Blind & Print Impaired), the Ozanam Inn, and the Metropolitan Crime Commission, helping each raise funds for special projects and eliminate debt. He also created the Leaman Family Fund at Children’s Hospital to support families in need of financial support while their children receive care. He considered donations to this fund to be the best gifts he could ever receive.

Mr. Leaman loved to travel and was always interested in learning about other parts of the world. He never hesitated to acknowledge when something was done better somewhere else, or by someone else, and always hoped to be measured against the best, where ever that might be. He is preceded in death by his parents, Paul J. Leaman and Virginia M. Leaman, and his former wife, Ellen C. Merrill. He is survived by his daughter, Claire M. Leaman; his sons, George R. Leaman and Dana E. Leaman; his brother, Robert M. Leaman and his family; and his grandchildren, Nathaniel and Ainsley Leaman; and many loving friends. Mr. Leaman is also survived by his cherished colleague, Mrs. Marie Scallan, who helped him run his businesses for over 62 years. The family would like to give special thanks to Joyce Robertson and Mario Portillo for helping Mr. Leaman enjoy life in his own home to the very end. A celebration of Mr. Leaman’s life will be held in January. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Leaman Family Fund at Children’s Hospital.