AUGUST 12 • 2021 | 17
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Carl Levin conferring with Rep. John Dingell; speaking with President Barack Obama at the White House;
seated with brother Sander Levin while visiting Durfee School in Detroit in 2019; at President George W. Bush’s 2003 signing ceremony of the
Defense Authorization Act with Sen. John Warner, Sen. Levin, Rep. Tom Davis, Sen. Susan Collins and Rep. Duncan Hunter.
hit their targets,” he wrote.
However, he could be harsh-
ly critical of Israel “when it
allowed illegal settlements that
undermine a two-state solu-
tion, or when I believe it uses
or condones the use of exces-
sive force.”
However, he noted that he
never forgot that “Israel is an
island surrounded by an ocean
of threats.”
Carl Levin was a man of
many interests, a few of which
bordered on the whimsical.
He was very proud that when
he was on the Roosevelt
Memorial Commission, he
successfully pushed to have a
statue of Fala, FDR’s famous
Scottish terrier, included at
the president’s feet.
But perhaps most impor-
tantly, beyond his stand on
any particular issue, was his
continual work to find com-
mon ground, to reduce ten-
sions among his colleagues,
and to make the U.S. Senate
work. “That meant being
pragmatic and not ideological-
ly rigid. I’ve always said that
if you don’t come to elected
office willing to compromise,
you don’t come wanting to
govern,” he said
When he decided to retire
in 2014, he was asked why,
since he was still healthy
and was virtually certain to
be reelected. Levin said he
loved the Senate but wanted
to spend more time with his
wife and family. For many
years, Michigan politicians
from Gerald Ford to Jennifer
Granholm have left the state
for the Sunbelt or began
careers as Washington lobby-
ists after leaving office.
Carl Levin moved back
to Detroit, helped create
the Levin Center at Wayne
State University Law School,
and taught and shared his
insights with students until
he became ill.
His nephew, U.S. Rep.
Andy Levin, now represents
Michigan’s 9th District in
Congress, as did Andy’s father,
Sandy, before his retirement.
Sen. Carl Levin is survived
by his wife, Barbara Levin;
daughters and sons-in-law,
Kate Levin Markel, Laura and
Daniel Levin, Erica Levin and
Richard Fernandes; brother,
Sander M. Levin; grandchil-
dren, Noa, Bess, Benjamin,
Samantha, Beatrice and Olivia.
He was the loving broth-
er of the late Hannah Levin
Gladstone.
Interment was at Clover Hill
Park Cemetery. Contributions
may be made to the Levin
Center at Wayne Law, Wayne
State University — Gift
Processing PO Box 674602,
Detroit, MI 48267-4602, (313)
577-2263; or Henry Ford
Cancer Institute Development
Office, 1 Ford Place #5A,
Detroit, MI 48202-3450, (313)
876-1031, henryford.com/
development/make-a-gift.
Condolence acknowledge-
ments may be emailed to:
Levin.Family@Wayne.Edu.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel.
Jack Lessenberry is a veteran journalist
who knew Sen. Levin for many years,
and is the co-author of The People’s
Lawyer, a biography of Frank Kelley.
LIFETIME OF SERVICE continued from page 15
CARL M. LEVIN PAPERS, BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY,
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
COURTESY WSU PRESS
ERIN KIRKLAND
COURTESY WSU PRESS