Part 3 of 8

Marc always like things that spin.  He always loved cars and especially trucks, which he got from my father who worked for trucking company. (STORY Yale Truck on Westside Manhattan Building).   Susan remembers that an early sort of car seat for Marc which was in the front of the car in the middle seat had a play steering wheel than Marc loved. When the older kids went off to school, it was Marc, me and the Dog left at home. Often we would play car sitting on the gray carpet opposite each other with our feet against each other as the gas and brake pedals of the car. Leslie remembers his first vehicle was a 16 inch Royce Union Bike with training wheels, the  color was black.  We would beg Dad to “pleeeeease” take us to McGuiness Amusement Park where the kiddie roller coaster and other rides looked gigantic to us. 

Marc always  loved family get-togethers:  with Aunt Myra and Uncle Hal, along with cousins Ilene and Iris on Dad’s side and especially with Mom’s only sister Aunt Frances and Uncle Bernie, along with the cousins Elyce, Harlan, Shauna, and Jared and the cousins of cousins, too numerous to name, all family to us.  Be it Passover, Thanksgiving, a BBQ or whatever it was, it was always loud, fun and food, lots of food.   And his family kept growing, At 9 Marc’s first niece Joanne arrived, who became like a little sister.  She would often tell her mother Susan that she wanted to go to Grandma’s.  “But who is gonna watch you?”  Susan would asked... “Don’t worry” Joanne would say,” the kids will watch me!”  Marc would take her to the playgrounds, pull on a sled and all the rest.   He was also Uncle to Chelsea, we all remember her as a little girl at the family reunion in Ithaca.  There was also Samantha, Rebecca, Jenny, and Allison. And he was Great-Uncle to Collin, Ethan, Shane, Lily, Victoria, Noah, Jacob, Jonah and Carson.  They thought he was clever, funny and always a lot of fun



Part 4 of 8

Marc was always involved.  He was part of Troop 701 under Scoutmaster Tony Pavone.  He was involved for many years, being an assistant scout master well into his 20s. Many times we went camping on Long Island, at Wauwepex or Baiting Hollow, Upstate in Onteora and Bear Mountain, The White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the hills of Vermont.  At Boy Scout Summer Camp, Marc as a 15 year old could win a tug of war by himself against 4 or 5 other scouts.  And we all were involved in the chain of hand-me-down clothes that a large family of mostly boys was.  There was the “nautical theme” blanket that we all went thru and a series of winter coats.   Leslie had several flannel shirts and one day Les had one on, Marc had one on, and I had one on.  When Les perhaps protested it was his shirt, Marc responded with that sweet, kind and considerate way of his “hey you can only wear one at a time.”

Michael coached Marc for his Bar Mitzvah which was held on Labor Day, 1970 and I think he got a lot of confidence from that.   Leslie remembers they were always polishing Dads 57, 61, and 64 chevys together. Much later they worked on all the worn out mustangs Les had and dad’s station wagon.  Les taught Marc how to drive and took him for his driving test in Westbury in his car. (Chevy impala?)

And Marc always loved a new car and his first very own car was a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, 2-door with a V8 engine in this gorgeous maroon.  It was the 1980s equivalent of a muscle car.  Marc loved driving it so much he would ask me “can I bring you anything at college?” and would drive out at moment’s notice.  And how he could fit my entire door room in that car, including a big old TV and my Lejeune’ bicycle is a testament to his cleverness.


Marc always like things that spin.  He always loved cars and especially trucks, which he got from my father who worked for trucking company. (STORY Yale Truck on Westside Manhattan Building).   Susan remembers that an early sort of car seat for Marc which was in the front of the car in the middle seat had a play steering wheel than Marc loved. When the older kids went off to school, it was Marc, me and the Dog left at home. Often we would play car sitting on the gray carpet opposite each other with our feet against each other as the gas and brake pedals of the car. Leslie remembers his first vehicle was a 16 inch Royce Union Bike with training wheels, the  color was black.  We would beg Dad to “pleeeeease” take us to McGuiness Amusement Park where the kiddie roller coaster and other rides looked gigantic to us. 

Marc always  loved family get-togethers:  with Aunt Myra and Uncle Hal, along with cousins Ilene and Iris on Dad’s side and especially with Mom’s only sister Aunt Frances and Uncle Bernie, along with the cousins Elyce, Harlan, Shauna, and Jared and the cousins of cousins, too numerous to name, all family to us.  Be it Passover, Thanksgiving, a BBQ or whatever it was, it was always loud, fun and food, lots of food.   And his family kept growing, At 9 Marc’s first niece Joanne arrived, who became like a little sister.  She would often tell her mother Susan that she wanted to go to Grandma’s.  “But who is gonna watch you?”  Susan would asked... “Don’t worry” Joanne would say,” the kids will watch me!”  Marc would take her to the playgrounds, pull on a sled and all the rest.   He was also Uncle to Chelsea, we all remember her as a little girl at the family reunion in Ithaca.  There was also Samantha, Rebecca, Jenny, and Allison. And he was Great-Uncle to Collin, Ethan, Shane, Lily, Victoria, Noah, Jacob, Jonah and Carson.  They thought he was clever, funny and always a lot of fun


Marc was always involved.  He was part of Troop 701 under Scoutmaster Tony Pavone.  He was involved for many years, being an assistant scout master well into his 20s. Many times we went camping on Long Island, at Wauwepex or Baiting Hollow, Upstate in Onteora and Bear Mountain, The White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the hills of Vermont.  At Boy Scout Summer Camp, Marc as a 15 year old could win a tug of war by himself against 4 or 5 other scouts.  And we all were involved in the chain of hand-me-down clothes that a large family of mostly boys was.  There was the “nautical theme” blanket that we all went thru and a series of winter coats.   Leslie had several flannel shirts and one day Les had one on, Marc had one on, and I had one on.  When Les perhaps protested it was his shirt, Marc responded with that sweet, kind and considerate way of his “hey you can only wear one at a time.”

Michael coached Marc for his Bar Mitzvah which was held on Labor Day, 1970 and I think he got a lot of confidence from that.   Leslie remembers they were always polishing Dads 57, 61, and 64 chevys together. Much later they worked on all the worn out mustangs Les had and dad’s station wagon.  Les taught Marc how to drive and took him for his driving test in Westbury in his car. (Chevy impala?)

And Marc always loved a new car and his first very own car was a 1979 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, 2-door with a V8 engine in this gorgeous maroon.  It was the 1980s equivalent of a muscle car.  Marc loved driving it so much he would ask me “can I bring you anything at college?” and would drive out at moment’s notice.  And how he could fit my entire door room in that car, including a big old TV and my Lejeune’ bicycle is a testament to his cleverness.



Part 5 of 8

But then again, Marc could always figure those things out.  Marc always loved to fix and build.  I still have several book shelves that Marc built in High School.  When the kitchen was redone in 1970, Marc helped Dad and Les paint the ceiling and the trim.  I can still remember the day they put up this metallic yellow flower wallpaper and how they were short an inch which was snuck in.  There was a vacuum cleaner from the Eisenhower administration that he kept fixing for Mom including fashioning a wheel out of wood.  When that finally gave out, he researched which one much Mom should buy.  Be it the lawn mower or a bicycle, he really could fix almost anything or figure out what they should get instead.

His love of Cars, of fixing things, and driving, after high school he went to a yearlong program in auto mechanics, and worked for auto dealerships here in Great Neck and nearby, mostly Oldsmobile and Chevy. With his phenomenal memory, he was a wiz in the parts department.  Years later he was delivering Toyota parts to repair shops all over Queens.  Since he was a trained and experienced mechanic he would sometimes tell the repair shops, well here is part you ordered but sounds like it won’t fix the problem or the right one for that model of the car.  And even though that we had a doctor and a lawyer in the family (my Jewish mama was always kvelling at such a thing) along with myself, a Techie, it was Marc, the auto mechanic, who had actually money in the bank, like real cash, loaning to the siblings when requested.  When Marc got a computer and got onto the internet in the late 1990s, he was off to the races, using search engines and finding out anything he wanted.  When Susan would start talking about something Marc, he would reply, loudly of course, the he “knows all about it!” and he usually did.


Part 6 of 8
Marc was always devoted to Mom, especially after Dad died in 1983.  He would shop, take care of the house, and since she never learned to drive, he would take her everywhere.  He spent many years being her biggest support, as well as mine, when I had my own issues and problems.  Actually he helped everyone when asked, be it family, friends, neighbors, or the synagogue.  And he went on trips with Temple to the “Kosher Hotels” in the Catskills and to, of all places, Atlantic City, where Marc always thought it was hysterical that the rabbi trying to conduct a service in a swaying, speeding bus down the Jersey Tpke.

Marc was always remembered by everyone as kind and “neighborly” and I mean that.  It was amazing how many of my classmates from high school on Facebook had said “Oh Marc, the big guy who liked cars.”  Everybody in the neighborhood knew him and remembered.  All these little connections build up to a picture of a nice guy, a real mensch.   

Marc always loved to travel and thinking about it this week, I was a little jealous of all the places he has been.  He has been all over the country: New Jersey for Aunt Frances and later Sister Susan; Seattle, Columbus, and Las Vegas to see Michael.  San Francisco and Los Angeles to see Leslie.   Road trip with family friends thru New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.  There was Detroit, Chicago, Wilmington-Delaware, and Ithaca - New York, and Washington DC.  A Bus Tour of Maine and New England with Mom.  Trips to Canada and a Caribbean cruise that sailed back through the tail end of hurricane with waves crashing up to the 14th deck.  Marc always talked about these loudly and enthusiastically; they were adventures. 


Part 7 of 8

Even in 2005 when he first started having health issues and couldn’t take the winters in New York, moving to Las Vegas, where Michael and Susan had settled, was an adventure.  He would explore the city.  After Michael helped him get house, I would come out often and we would explore Red Rocks Canyon, Mount Charleston and the Valley of Fire.  (BTW, the only time I gamble in Las Vegas is when checking luggage on the plane). Susan would go to lunch with him often or he would be over for dinner.  They were buddies in Las Vegas and he got a sense of belonging from his big sister, especially after Mom died nearly 20 years ago.

Marc always loved to swim, growing up with a backyard pool.  When he moved to Las Vegas his house was just 2 doors down from the community pool.  Even after one of his many hospital stays, when he got home, Marc wanted me to help find a way which he could safely get in and out the pool. 

Marc was always loud but laughing even as his health declined.  He would yell at baseball games which I think he got from my father (who probably yelled from the bleachers at the Brooklyn Dodgers.) (Marc really didn’t support a team just like to yell at the players and the umpire).  He would yell at the TV and laugh with whatever sitcom he found, even though he has seen it 16 times before.  And he might yell in frustration at the things he couldn’t do for himself anymore.  But when he did, he was never mean and went right back to laughing.  And he never complained about the condition of his life and I truly mean that.  Even though he has been in and out of the hospital many times and nearly confined to a chair the last few years, he never said “woe is me” and never was bitter about his condition.  He was always loud but laughing.


Part 8 of 8

While I used to go out to Las Vegas often, with the pandemic I couldn’t.  Leslie spoke daily to Marc and if he forgot, Marc would call him and wanted to know what wrong, if he was okay.  They had long discussions about cars, current and old, especially all of his Oldsmobiles and he told stories about delivering car parts  in Queens.

Even though he moved, he was always part of New Hyde Park, I would usually first hear about the local news or snowstorm coming because Marc would call me from Las Vegas saying “Snow desk.”  It was his running gag of announcing himself as whatever news or date it was such “Fireworks Dept.” on July 4th.  Indeed, the last time I spoke to him, just a week after the inauguration, in a hospital bed with a full oxygen mask he yelled “white house.”  His was loud and laughing to the end.   And I just made sure he knew from me, as always, I was on top of it of everything as I did during his far too frequent hospital stays.

Now Marc is back home, just down the road from the family house where he was raised and where my Mother lived for over 50 years.  He did so much for so many people, especially for me growing up as my bigger and much stronger brother, and later helping Mom and all of us in many ways over so many years.    It is impossible to pay him back for all did, all the miles he drove, all the help he gave, and all the loud laughter he provided. 

Thank you all for coming and sharing with us these moments, as we take our brother Marc, and lay him to rest, next to Mom, back home here on Long Island.  His loud laughter will fill our hearts over the sadness of his passing.


OBITUARY

Marc Levy

August 7, 1957 – January 25, 2021

Riverside-Nassau North Chapels

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