FEBRUARY 22 • 2024 | 53
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PHYLLIS
SHAPIRO, 76, of
Bloomfield Hills,
died Feb. 11, 2024.
Mrs. Shapiro is
survived by her
beloved husband of 17 years,
Simcha Shapiro; daughter and
son-in-law, Tammy and Darren
Reece, son and daughter-in-
law, John and Christy Mengel;
son, Eric Mengel; grandchil-
dren, Samantha and Adam
Dowmont, Jay and Courtney
Hash, Tevye Mengel, Mekah
Mengel; 10 great-grandchil-
dren; nieces, nephews and a
world of friends.
She was predeceased by a
grandchild, JJ Mengel; her
sister, Patty Gholdoian; her
brother, Rex Dickerson Jr.;
her parents, Shirley and Rex
Dickerson.
Contributions may be
made to Jewish Federation
of Detroit, 6735 Telegraph
Road, Bloomfield Hills, Mi.,
48301, jewishdetroit.org/send-
a-tribute; Crohn’s & Colitis
Foundation of Michigan, 25882
Orchard Lake Road, Suite 102,
Farmington Hills, MI 48336,
crohnscolitisfoundation.org;
or to a charity of one’s choice.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman
Chapel.
J
oseph “Joe” Levin, 85,
of Detroit, died after
sunset on Feb. 13,
2024.
He was an attorney,
real estate developer and
tireless advocate for the
redevelopment
of his beloved
downtown
Detroit. Mr.
Levin was
a longtime
Detroit resident
with his life
partner, Diana McBroom.
The cause of his death
was complications from
congestive heart failure.
Joe Levin was born
on March 18, 1938, in
Detroit, the youngest of
four children. His father,
Theodore, was the chief
judge of the U.S. District
Court for the Eastern
District of Michigan. His
mother, Rhoda (Katzin)
Levin, was a homemaker.
Mr. Levin studied
government at Oberlin
College, where he received
a bachelor’s degree in 1959.
He received his juris doctor
degree from Columbia
University in 1962. After
graduation, he embarked
on his own legal career,
working for many years as
a commercial litigator with
the firm of Dice, Sweeney,
Sullivan & Feikens.
In addition to the
practice of law, Mr. Levin
spearheaded notable
Detroit-based urban
redevelopment efforts. As
the managing partner for
the Detroit Madison Center
Limited Partnership, Mr.
Levin helped secure a federal
grant; and in conjunction
with private investments,
he redeveloped a portion
of the Hudson’s downtown
Detroit warehouse complex
into the 36th District
Court. Through another
public-private initiative,
Mr. Levin renovated the
former S.S. Kresge world
headquarters in Midtown
Detroit — a 1927 building
designed by acclaimed
architect Albert Kahn
— into the Metropolitan
Center for High Technology,
a business-technology
incubator, in partnership
with Wayne State University.
Mr. Levin’s projects also
took him outside Detroit. He
built Huron Shores, a hotel
and professional training
center, now the Ann Arbor
Marriott Ypsilanti Eagle
Crest conference center.
As Soviet control of the
Eastern Bloc ended in the
1990s, Mr. Levin worked in
Prague as special counsel to
U.S. Motors, an association
of automobile distributors
created to expand consumer
access to Western-made
vehicles in the growing
economies of the former
Eastern Europe.
POLITICAL LIFE
Mr. Levin grew up in a fam-
ily steeped in politics and
public service, which shaped
his passion for justice and
democratic ideals through-
out his life. As a teen, he
used his bar mitzvah gifts to
print leaflets for the nascent
presidential campaign of
Adlai E. Stevenson, which he
personally delivered door-
to-door. As an adult, Mr.
Levin regularly campaigned
for and supported numerous
Democratic political can-
didates. He religiously sub-
scribed to the Congressional
Record, reading every
issue in due course to keep
abreast of new national leg-
islation. He also served as
a longtime board member
of the Sigmund and Sophie
Rohlik Foundation.
Mr. Levin’s life was
marked by an indomitable
optimism, a tireless
work ethic, a love for the
American political process
and a deep devotion to
friends and family. He will
be sorely missed.
Mr. Levin was preceded in
death by his parents, Judge
Theodore Levin and Rhoda
Katzin Levin; his eldest
brother, former Michigan
Supreme Court Justice
Charles L. Levin; and by his
sister, Mimi Levin Lieber,
an educator and former
member of the New York
State Board of Regents.
He is survived by his
beloved partner, Ms.
McBroom; his brother,
Daniel Levin, (Fay Hartog
Levin) a prominent real
estate developer in Chicago;
his former sister-in-law,
Judge Helene White; Ms.
McBroom’s children, Jessica
McBroom of Washington,
D.C., and James McBroom
of Detroit; numerous loving
nieces and nephews, to
whom he was a devoted
uncle.
Contributions may
be made to Detroit Dog
Rescue, P.O. Box 806119,
St. Clair Shores, MI 48080,
detroitdogrescue.com; or
to a charity of one’s choice.
Arrangements by Ira
Kaufman Chapel.
A Passion for Justice
Joseph
Levin