Diane Stephanie Levin

Diane Stephanie Levin, 95 years old, died amid the comfort of family at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital on Jan. 17, 2020. Prior to her hospitalization, Mrs. Levin was living among good friends at The Hebrew Home in Riverdale, N.Y. Born Theodosia Stephania Reinhardt in Poland on Feb. 2, 1924, young Diane and her mother, Pelahia, emigrated in 1928 to the United States, where they were reunited with her father, Harry, and two older sisters, Mary and Katherine. A superb scholar and athlete, the young Diane graduated from Curtis High School. After several years in the retail trade (including with the hâute couture perfumer, Givaudan, and in car sales to the British Empire marked by a personal acquaintance with then-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill), Diane met and married Ralph Harold Levin, an accomplished New York negligence attorney. Settling in Great Kills, Mrs. Levin was active in the cultural activities of garden club (Bryant Park second-place ribbon), March of Dimes theater productions, Girl Scouts, Great Kills Little League, and was an active volunteer in the Bayley Seton and St. Elizabeth Ann Hospital Auxiliaries. Throughout her children's (Howard and Lisa) school years at Staten Island Academy, Mrs. Levin was an active parent, producing the yearly Geranium Ball, couture fashion shows, and clothing sale fundraisers. When her children became teenagers, Mrs. Levin entered CUNY's Bachelor's of Nursing program. As an honors graduate, Mrs. Levin went on to work in the largest U.S. Public Health Hospital in the country (located in Staten Island), and ultimately became charge nurse in cardiology. After Diane and her husband retired, they pridefully followed their childrens' medical careers: Howard in cardiology and Lisa in veterinary medicine. During this time, Mrs. Levin became a star bowler with the Golden Oldies. Although Ralph died in 2004 and did not see his son become an influence and entrepreneurial power in the medical device industry, with Diane he witnessed his son's happy marriage to Dr. Frances Rudnick Levin, who is a chaired professor of psychiatry at Columbia and a leading figure in addiction psychiatry. Howard and Frances have three children, Allison (a medical resident at the University of Pennsylvania and married to Miguel Yaport, Harvard anesthesiologist); son, C.J. (starting medical school in the fall), and Tamara (a remarkable social worker at Montefiore Hospital). All were centers of pride for their grandmother. Mrs. Levin also enjoyed speaking of her daughter's work in the animal welfare sector, its lifesaving efforts, and the advances which came from that work. Mrs. Levin was well-known as a woman of refinement, classic beauty, and generous nature. She is survived by her children and daughter-in-law, Drs. Howard, Frances, and Lisa Levin; and her grandchildren, Gelina Levin and Dr. Allison Levin; and her husband Dr. Miguel Yaport, and C.J. and Tamara Levin.