22 | JUNE 16 • 2022
Remarks from
President Joe Biden
In a video recording, President Biden said
the following:
“I had the honor of calling Carl Levin my
friend for more than 40 years. He was the
most honorable man I've known in
public life. He was brilliant, hum-
ble and principled. Carl looked
everybody straight in the eye,
and he listened. He always told
you how he saw it with hones-
ty and respect. That’s how Carl
earned the trust of the people
in Michigan. And that's how he earned the
respect of his colleagues on both sides of
the aisle.
“To be able to get so much done, protect-
ing our national security, ending the use of
torture, reining in the proliferation of nucle-
ar weapons, standing up for the dignity of
working people, working to improve gun
safety, to holding corporate power account-
able for their abuse and so much more.
“You know, I always loved visiting Michigan
with Carl. We talked about what led each of
us to public service, the civil rights move-
ment, how we each come up through local
office. The county council, in my case, the
city council in his. With Carl, you knew that
Detroit was written on his heart. He talked
all the time about the beauty of the Detroit
Riverwalk and the Great Lakes.
“When the Great Recession struck our
defining American industry and the auto
industry was on the brink of collapse, Carl
and I worked together to help Detroit get
back, and it did — because of Carl.
“Most of all, we talked about family. Jill
and I are sending all our love to Barbara, to
Erica, to Kate, to Laura, to grandkids, brother
Sandy, nephew Andy and your families.
“Despite the full life he lived, we know
the void of his loss is still big and it leaves
a giant hole in the middle of your chest.
Despite his courageous fight against cancer,
it still leaves a heavy toll.
“You know, Carl will always be with you,
always, just as he'll be with his friends, his
former staff and the people of Michigan who
loved Carl so dearly. God bless you, Carl
Levin, a great American and a dear friend.
“The highest compliment an Irishman can
give another person is to say he was a good
man. Carl was a good man.”
OUR COMMUNITY
T
he family of the late Sen.
Carl Levin and the Levin
Center for Oversight
and Democracy at Wayne State
University Law School honored
the life and legacy of Michigan’s
longest-serving U.S. senator with
a memorial at 1 p.m. on Sunday,
June 12, at Wayne State University’s
Student Center Ballroom.
Levin, who left the Senate in
2015 after serving six terms and
36 years, died July 29, 2021. He
was 87 years old. He is survived
by his wife, Barbara Levin; daugh-
ters and sons-in-law, Kate Levin
Markel, Laura and Daniel Levin,
Erica Levin and Richard Fernandes;
brother, Sander M. Levin; grand-
children, Noa, Bess, Benjamin,
Samantha, Beatrice and Olivia.
When Sen. Levin passed away,
his family said they received a
tremendous outpouring of loving
memories and tributes about the
senator. Because of the pandemic,
his public memorial was delayed
until now so his family could “cre-
ate an in-person event that honors
Carl’s legacy of bringing people
together.”
Colleagues, constituents, family
and friends of Sen. Carl Levin con-
verged at Wayne State to celebrate
his life and legacy.
From 2001 until his retire-
ment in 2015, Sen. Levin served
as the chairman or the ranking
member of the Senate Armed
Services Committee, where he
won near-universal acclaim for his
work in that role. But perhaps most
importantly, beyond his stand on
any one issue, was his continual
work to find common ground, to
reduce tensions among his col-
leagues and to make the U.S. Senate
work.
Levin was a Jewish Detroiter at
his core. Prior to his time in the
Friends, family and colleagues
of the late senator remember his
life at public memorial.
Carl Levin
Remembered
President
Joe Biden
JACKIE HEADAPOHL DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL
The late Sen.
Carl Levin