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Westwood, CA—Sarah Friedman, known to all in the industry as “Sunny,” died October 9, just as this edition of The Centurion was going to press. With her husband, Lenny, she was both a leading example and a pillar of the independent jeweler community in the United States. She was 91 and passed peacefully with familly at her side.

No further information was available at press time, but The Centurion featured the Friedman family and Sarah Leonard Jewelers in a profile last year. (Editor's note: This article was updated on October 14.) 

Sunny was born in Chicago in 1922, but moved to California when she and Leonard “Lenny” Friedman opened a tiny “mom and pop” jewelry store in 1946, called Crescent Westwood Jewelers, in Westwood Village, near Hollywood. Over the years, the neighborhood grew to be a chic shopping district, and in time the little jeweler had both grown and earned the honor of being the oldest merchant in Westwood. About 15 years ago, following a legal challenge over the Crescent name (it also was the name of a jewelry chain) the store renamed itself Sarah Leonard, after its two beloved founders. In fact, the two were such a poster couple for romance that NBC-TV in Los Angeles selected them as the “Ideal Couple” in a 10-part series about romance. The Friedmans, said NBC, have it all: life’s work together, children, and still a good old-fashioned romance.

The Sarah Leonard website calls Sunny “the wind beneath Lenny’s wings.” She is considered a pioneer businesswoman in Los Angeles, having worked side by side with Lenny for more than 65 years. She also was a sought-after speaker in the jewelry industry, often asked to share her expertise.

The Friedman family is active in both the industry and community: the American Gem Society, the Westwood Kiwanis Club, the Jewelers 24 Karat Club of Southern California, the California Jewelers Association, and the Rotary Club International, American Red Cross, Westwood Business Improvement District, Westwood Community Council, Jewelers For Children, and more. Both Sunny and Lenny Friedman were inducted into National Jeweler’s Hall of Fame.

Sunny is survived by Lenny, her husband of 67 years, son David and daughter-in-law Gail, son Don, daughter Linda Abell and son-in-law Jeff Abell, and grandchildren Arianne (and Rob) Walker, Jordana (and Samuel) Feinberg, Risa Friedman, Aaron Friedman, David (and Lara) Abell, who is active in the family jewelry business. She also had four great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Jewelers for Children, which the store has supported actively over the years.