Marcia Lauter Obrasky Levin

LEVIN Marcia Lauter Obrasky. Died peacefully on April 18, 2006, in Sarasota Memorial Hospital after a long illness. A popular children's book author, using the pen name of Marcia Martin, creator of the Donna Parker series, as well as 22 books for beginning readers, and some of the first enrichment text books in the ``New Mathematics,'' she was born and raised in Philadelphia, and lived in Rye, New York for 56 years. She is survived by her husband, Martin, her sons, Jeremy and Hugh, her daughter, Wendy, her sister, Louise Obrasky Bernstein, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. She took exceptional pride in the achievements of the accomplished and multi-talented family she engendered, imbued with her love of literature and the arts, and for whom she provided constant encouragement. Her husband, Martin, was, for 17 years, until 1983, the President of Times Mirror Book Publishing, and an author, himself, and, at her urging, upon retirement, followed a life-long dream, by getting a law degree at age 65, and has, for the last 22 years, been an attorney at Cowan, Liebowitz and Latman of New York, as well an Adjunct Professor of Law, specializing in publishing law, at New York Law School, and a Fellow and Lecturer at the Stanford University Professional Publishing Course in Palo Alto. Her older son, Jeremy Leven, (another novelist -Creator, Satan: His Psychotherapy and Cure), is also a screenwriter (Creator, The Legend of Bagger Vance, The Notebook), and a film director (Don Juan DeMarco). Her daughter, Dr. Wendy Newby, is a psychologist and Associate Dean of Emory College, who also serves as Director of The Levin Center for the Development of Educational Potential. And her younger son, Hugh Lauter Levin is the President of Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc., a publisher of fine art and illustrated books. The family will be available at the Zion Memorial Chapel at 785 East Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, New York from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Sunday, April 23, 2006. Funeral Services will be held at the Rye Community Synagogue, 200 Forest Avenue, Rye NY 10580 at 10:00 AM on Monday, April 24, 2006, with internment following at Sharon Gardens, Valhalla, New York. The family will be at home, 221 Kirby Lane, Rye NY, during the evening at 7:00 PM on Monday, April 24 and Tuesday, April 25, 2006. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Levin Center for the Development of Educational Potential at 1525 Richard Stokes Drive, Decatur, Georgia 30033.