Spencer Leak, Sr. is the son of a pioneering Chicago mortician A.R. Leak who opened Unity Funeral Home in Chicago in 1933 and A.R. Leak Funeral Chapels in 1938. Spencer and his three brothers attended Raymond Elementary School. He graduated from Hyde Park High School in 1956. Leak went on to Wilson Junior College and graduated from Worsham College of Mortuary Science in 1959.
While serving with the United States Army in 1960, he was stationed in West Germany. Leak became president and funeral director of Leak and Sons Funeral Chapel in 1970. He returned to school, earning his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree from Daniel Hale Williams College in 1979 and Master of Science (MS) degree in criminal justice from Chicago State University in 1981.
Spencer Leak also became involved in the Civil Rights Movement. In 1964, he joined 10,000 activists led by his father and Reverend Clay Evans to protest the racially segregated Oak Woods Cemetery. That same year, A.R. Leak Funeral Home opened its doors to thousands who wanted to view the body of singing legend Sam Cooke. Leak then held a series of positions in public service: Consumer Affairs Chief; Illinois Attorney General (1982-1985); Executive Director, Cook County Department of Corrections (1987-1991); Deputy Chief Inspector-General, Illinois Secretary of State (1991-1993); Manager, Illinois Vehicle Services (1993-1999); Deputy Director, District 1, Illinois Department of Corrections (1993-1999); and Commissioner, Illinois Human Rights Commission (1999-present).
Since 1993, Leak has served as President and CEO of Leak and Sons Funeral Home. He also coordinates the radio Program, It’s Time Truth Speaks, on WGCI-FM. Leak resides in Chicago with his wife, Henrietta Leak, to whom he has been married for several decades. They have three sons.
From: THE HISTORY MAKERS – Interview January 21, 2004 https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/spencer-leak-sr