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NIBBLES Si NUTS
He Was A Very Easy Fellow To Love'
S
DAVID SACHS
Editorial Assistant
.
tephen Levitz — a Southfield
contractor, businessman and
driving force behind the con-
struction of many
Orthodox Jewish schools and
institutions — died Feb. 7 at
age 48.
Mr. Levitz came to the
Detroit area in 1975, learned
the construction business from
a relative and underwent a
spiritual awakening.
"He was a man of great
gusto, blending the spiritual ,
Stephen
and human side wonderfully."
•
said his friend, Hospice of
•
Michigan Rabbi Bunny Freedman.
Mr. Levitz was contractor for the
conversion of the former B'nai Moshe
building in Oak Park into the Sally
Allen Alexander Beth Jacob School for
Girls in 1991 and its renovations in
1996. He remodeled the Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah in Southfield and was in the
middle of the conversion of the former
Beth Achim building into the new
•
Akiva Hebrew Day School in Southfield
when he died. He was also helping plan
a new Yeshiva Beth Yehudah preschool
in Southfield.
Mr. Levitz built the Young Israel of
Southfield social hall. He did interior
construction work on the Bais Chabad
Torah Center in West Bloomfield.
"The building of these institutions,
without personal gain or profit, was a
13 major part of his life," said Rabbi
Freedman.
Mr. Levitz, diagnosed with cancer in
August, continued to have meetings
with architects on the Akiva project.
His last business meeting was on the
planning of the new Yeshiva preschool.
The conversion of the former B'nai
Moshe synagogue into a school was
complicated and he came up with inno-
:D vative ideas to accomplish it. He nearly
lived in the building then.
"He saw something that wasn't and
then envisioned what could be — and
then went ahead and did it," said Rabbi
Freedman.
"Whenever a local bank would be
presented with a charity project and saw
Steve listed as general contractor, it
would go a long way to ease the bank's
mind," recalls Rabbi Dov Loketch. Mr.
Levitz, a native of Fairfield, Conn.,
came to the Detroit area 23 years ago to
visit his cousin, builder and real estate
developer Michael Roth of Dembs-Roth
Construction Co. in Southfield. He
stayed, learned the construction busi-
ness and went out on his own, building
warehouses in Livonia, Hamtramck and
Detroit, and establishing B.J. Steel
Processing Co. of Detroit and Jaimes
Industries of Southfield.
He not only "found" himself eco-
nomically in Detroit, he intensified his
spirituality through friendships in the
Orthodox Jewish community.
Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg
of Bais Chabad of West
Bloomfield remembers Mr.
Levitz as part of the founding
nucleus of his synagogue in
1976.
"The spark for observant
Judaism was always there,"
recalls Rabbi Silberberg. "We
were just at the right place at
Levitz
the right time. He was a
leader. He would walk three
miles on Shabbat and act as chazzan for
Shacharit and Musaf He was the first
member to put a tit/is over his head."
As a teen, Mr. Levitz belonged to the
National Conference of Synagogue
Youth (NCSY). In recent years, he was a
key fund-raiser, hosting an NCSY annu-
al breakfast in his home and establishing
the Mildred Levitz Scholarship Fund,
named in memory of his late mother, to
send youth on summer learning pro-
grams in Israel.
Mr. Levitz served on the board of
directors of the Hebrew Benevolent
Society and Yeshiva Beth Yehudah,
where he was chairman of the building
committee.
His friend, Rabbi Boruch Levin of
the Hebrew Memorial Chapel in Oak
Park, said Mr. Levitz had a quick mind
and when serving on boards and corn-
mittees, could solve problems and juggle
projects effortlessly. He took his learn-
ing, davening, family and life seriously.
He was a very easy fellow to love."
Rabbi Freedman said the vigil at his
bedside was a "profoundly spiritual
thing. The last two weeks, there was
round-the-clock prayer, sometimes
including a minyan. Rabbis, relatives
and friends were steadily at his side. He
never spent the night alone."
Mr. Levitz is survived by his wife,
Chayala; father, Harold of Fairfield,
Conn.: sons, Avi Pesis, Daniel Levitz,
Shimmie Pesis, Chaim Levitz; daugh-
ters, Jaime Levitz, Nechi Levitz; broth-
ers and sisters-in-law, Joel and Leslie
Levitz of Fairfield, Conn., Stuart and
Judy Levitz of Orange, Conn.
Contributions may be made to
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah, P.O. Box 2044,
Southfield, MI 48037; National
Conference of Synagogue Youth, 15919
W. 10 Mile Rd., Southfield, MI 48075;
Young Israel of Southfield, 27705
Lahser, Southfield, MI 48075.
Interment at Hebrew Memorial
Park. ❑
AT THE VINEYARDS
(248) 855-9463
(248) 737-8088
Fax: 626-8468
Toll Free: I -877-GIFTS-88
32418 Northwestern Hwy., Be t. Middlebelt and 14 Mile Road
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The membership of NCSY wishes to express their
deepest sympathy to
Daniel, Avi, Shimmy
& the entire Levitz family
on the Passing of Stephen Levitz A" H
May his memory continue to inspire you forever
Nathan Gonik
Detroit Chapter President
Rhonda Spector
Regional President
MONUMENT CENTER
INC.
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2/12
1999