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

