LEON LEVY

LEVY, Dr. Leon H., 84, of Richmond, died August 24, 2010. He is survived by his wife, The Rev. Dr. Sandra M. Levy; and his three children, Paul Levy of Portland, Oregon, Judy Levy of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Claire Levy of Boulder, Colorado; as well as two stepsons, Brian Esterling of Durham, North Carolina, and Kevin Esterling of Riverside, California. Dr. Levy was born in 1925 in Patterson, New Jersey, and served in the Army during World War II, first seeing combat in Germany (2nd Battalion, 343rd Infantry Regiment, 86th Division) and later stationed in the Philippines before being honorably discharged from the military. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Antioch College, Yellowsprings, Ohio, in l950, and in l954 was granted a Ph.D. in Psychology from Ohio State University. He joined the faculty of Indiana University, Bloomington, and remained there for 24 years, where from 1969 to 1978 he served as the Director of Clinical Training in the graduate program. Dr. Levy also served as Professor and Chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Maryland (Baltimore County) from 1978 until he retired in 1996, where he successfully launched a unique Ph.D. program in Human Services Psychology. He was the author of two scholarly texts in personality interpretation and theory, Psychological Interpretation and Conceptions of Personality, and was also the author of over 60 scientific publications in scholarly journals. Dr. Levy also served on many national committees for the American Psychological Association, including most recently being a member of the Board of Directors' Standing Hearing Panel of the Ethics Committee. He was the recipient of numerous national Public Health Service grants, studying most recently the efficacy of self help groups as mental health resources and the effects of hospice care on bereavement outcome. After moving to Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Levy served as an Affiliate Research Professor in the Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University. He was a loving husband, father, and stepfather, as well as grandfather to five lovely girls. He will be greatly missed by family members, as well as by students and colleagues who have admired and loved him. A memorial service will be held at historic St. John's Church, Richmond, on Saturday, September 4, at 11:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, a donation can be made to St. John's Church, 2401 E. Broad Street, Richmond, Va. 23223, or to the charity Bread for the World, P.O. Box 96416, Washington, D.C. 20090.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.