FEBRUARY 22 • 2024 | 53

OBITUARY 
CHARGES

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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