September 7, 1929 - August 11, 2020
After a long, colorful life, Jerry Levy succumbed to COVID-19. He will be laid to rest at the beautiful San Francisco Bay's Briones Hills at Gan Shalom on Thursday, August 13th.
Until the end, Jerry was proud of being born and raised in Brooklyn. His parents, Jennie and David, were immigrants from Eastern Europe who fled Anti-Semitism and once together worked hard to achieve the American Dream. The youngest of three children, Jerry's eldest sister Sophie (Reiter) was sixteen and Sylvia (Willinger/Herzig) was ten when their brother was born. With a big smile, Jerry used to say that he was raised by three mothers! Jerry's parents both had many siblings, nieces, and nephews that grew into a large vibrant cousins' club with Jerry as the family jokester.
Jerry's determined father, "Pop," created "Perfect Spinning and Stamping," a small manufacturer of metal parts for lighting fixtures. Pop wanted his son to work with him and offered jobs to many members of the Levy family. Jerry graduated from James Madison High School, NYU, and Brooklyn Law School along with an impressive list of notable alumni. Rather than immediately practicing law, Jerry joined his father and brother-in-law, in running "Perfect."
Jerry was married to Anne Grossweiner for 23 years and they had three children: Susan (Desmond), Daniel, and Eben. The couple decided to raise their family in the growing suburbs of Long Island. After starting out in a Levitt house in Wantagh, they settled in North New Hyde Park. Whether it was a fun day on Jones Beach, driving his family up to lavish Catskill Mountains resorts in a T-Bird, playing paddleball, throwing a frisbee in the street, or dealing cards on the kitchen table, Jerry was at his best when playing with children.
Tough times struck while Jerry was president of the "shop" and he was forced to shutter the business. Dedicated to taking care of his family, Jerry took jobs as the driver for a funeral home and a driving instructor until he was able to convince the NY State Bar Association to recertify him. He worked as an attorney for the NY State Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board in the just completed World Trade Center. By the time Jerry retired, he was an administrative law judge.
Jerry and Sandy Everson eloped in Las Vegas during their drive from Manhattan to Santa Rosa, CA where they were married for 20 years. Together with Sandy, Jerry was an avid folk-dancer, helped out with Girl Scouts, and explored the great outdoors. In Santa Rosa, he enjoyed his part-time job as a school crossing guard. Jerry expressed the many aspects of his creativity with painting, poetry, writing film criticism, and acting.
With the diagnosis of senile dementia, Susan arranged for her father to move more locally to Pleasant Hill Post-Acute Care. Even in the nursing home, "Judge Levy" was a character who told many Brooklyn stories, read voraciously, and remarkably solved Jumble word puzzles. Sadly at the time of his passing, the nursing home had many residents test positive for COVID-19. In addition to his children, "Poppy" is survived by his much adored grandchildren: Julia Desmond, Andrea Desmond, Hannah Levy, Jordan Levy, Brian Levy, Bethany Levy, and Sarah Everson.
Donations in memory of Susan's beloved father can be made to the National Council of Jewish Women San Francisco: <https://www.ncjwsf.org/copy-of-home-donate_tobe>.
>