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