Lillian Levine

Lillian Levine, age 92, died peacefully among family on Friday, January 31, 2003, at Pleasant View Center in Concord, New Hampshire. Born Leah Holzberg, she was the youngest of eight children (and six sisters). She grew up in Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Joseph, was the President of their temple. Her first language was Yiddish, her second Hebrew, and she did not speak English until she was five years old. She married Cantor Samuel Levine on December 28, 1929. This was no ordinary woman. Lillian was an early and active advocate for women's rights, including a woman's right to choose. She was at the forefront of the Civil Rights movement in New York City through the thirties and into the fifties, and she was an active supporter of union activity in industry and retail. She was a Wobbly, a dedicated member of the I.W.W. (International Workers of the World) and believed in justice, affirmative action, and equal rights for all. She was a leader in the Peace Movement and in 1952 was a delegate from the United States to the Copenhagen Women's Peace Conference. In the late forties and fifties, while she lived in Brooklyn, she practiced as a Freudian analyst. She was a gifted pianist, a native Yiddish speaker, and a teacher of Hebrew language and culture. The family moved from Brooklyn, N.Y., to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1954. In Cleveland Lillian organized several communities —among them Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights -- to declare themselves Nuclear Free Zones. She was active in opposing the Viet Nam War, leading and organizing several demonstrations. She was a teacher of Hebrew in several Cleveland area synagogues and was a well-known piano teacher. She was one of the original founders of Women Speak Out for Peace and Justice. She is remembered fondly by her many friends in Cleveland. Lillian and Samuel moved to Concord in 1992 to be closer to family. Lillian leaves her husband of 73 years, Samuel Levine; her son and daughter-in-law, David Levine and Rozlyn McLean, of Hopkinton, NH; her daughter-in-law, Rosemary Lum Levine, of Rochester, NY; eight grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her son Jonathan in October 2002. A private memorial service for Lillian will be held in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, Sunday, February 9, 2003. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be sent to NH Peace Action, Women Speak Out for Peace and Justice, and to NARAL.