Gilbert Levine

Fitchburg - Gilbert Levine, a longtime resident of Brooktondale, passed away peacefully on February 5, 2024, at the age of 96 in his residence in Fitchburg, Wisconsin, with family at his side.

Born in 1927, two years before the start of the Great Depression, Gil was raised in New York City by parents who had emigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe. His father died when Gil was six years old, leaving a widow and three young boys. They depended on government relief aid, part of Roosevelt's New Deal, until Gil's mother applied her skills as a seamstress to build a dressmaking business that provided for the family.

Gil chose to study agriculture after participating in a "fresh air" camp for urban teens from poor households. As he said later, his family never understood how a city boy could enjoy the countryside so much - but love of the outdoors and a fascination with farming became a hallmark of his professional and personal lives.

After starting his studies at Cornell University, Gil was soon drafted to serve in the post-World War II occupation forces in Europe and operated a communications relay company station. He returned to Cornell along with many others supported by the GI Bill and completed his bachelor's degree in 1948. While there, he was fixed up on a blind date with another student, Ilma Stein. They married soon after graduation, and raised three children together.

Applying his engineer's mind and knowing the importance of managing water efficiently on farms, Gil entered Cornell's graduate studies program in the Department of Agricultural Engineering and conducted research on irrigation, receiving his doctoral degree in 1952. He then joined the university faculty, teaching and doing research in water management.

Early in his Cornell career, Gil was asked to participate in a partnership with the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture, so he and his young family moved to a small college town in the Philippines to live and work for three years. There, he was among the scientists and engineers who developed improved rice varieties and agricultural practices as part of what came to be called the Green Revolution. This was his first step toward a lifelong focus on improved water resource management in low-income countries that took him back to the Philippines, as well as to Venezuela, and many other countries. Over decades, he worked with hundreds of students and colleagues from across the globe, taking joy in connecting across cultures to support local communities in using scarce water resources to grow staple crops. Many of his graduate students went on to influential careers in academia and technical agencies, often inviting Gil's advice around organizational and leadership challenges.

In 1983, after more than 30 years on the faculty, including as director of Cornell's Environmental Research and Water Resources and Marine Sciences Center, Gil accepted an early retirement option offered by New York during one of the state's recurring fiscal crises. This was the start of his second career; he joined the Ford Foundation as a program officer in India, where he and Ilma lived for several years. While there, they traveled throughout the country, climbed in the Himalayas, and learned to love (and cook) Indian cuisine.

Upon returning to Ithaca, Gil was asked in 1988 to serve as interim director of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies during a leadership search. Loved and respected for his clear-eyed decision-making and gentle management style, he was asked to return three more times, for a total of eight years in the role. During this period, he also served as the center's Fulbright Scholarship advisor, guiding students as they developed their proposals for international research. In a 2018 Cornell Chronicle profile, Stefan Senders, the Center's Fulbright undergraduate adviser, noted, "Gil listens carefully, almost serenely, and responds with measure, humor and respect. No one walks away wounded or discouraged; instead, they are dignified. It is a beautiful thing to see and experience."

In 2018, at the age of 90, he retired for the last time, although he reviewed Fulbright proposals for several more years and continued writing book chapters and articles. In those writings, he stressed the importance of humility and of listening when developing technical solutions within new contexts and cultures. In 2013, he closed his final academic article with the words, "I am reminded of an old Dutch proverb: 'We grow too soon old and too late smart' - but there still is time to learn.'"

Beyond his career, Gil was an accomplished crossword aficionado, finishing off every Sunday New York Times puzzle with ease (and in pen). He was active in civic life, enthusiastically supporting the Ithaca Sciencenter, which Ilma co-founded. He also was an active cultivator and maintainer of their 8-acre property on Brooktondale Road, and a catalog "kit" home he and Ilma moved into in1960, in which they lived until their move in July 2023 to be near family in Wisconsin. Gil and Ilma celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary last year.

Gil, who was predeceased by his son David, leaves his wife Ilma, his daughters Susan and Ruth; grandchildren Anna, Katy, Evan, Nathan, and Daniel Hofmeister, and Anna Escuder, Sarah and Eli Goodman; and great-grandchildren Ruby (Nave), and Miles and Hugo (Hattis).

Please send any contributions in his name to Cornell University, the Brooktondale Community Center, or the Ithaca Sciencenter. If you would like to receive information about how to join a virtual commemoration to be arranged soon, please send your name and contact information to gil.levine.remembrance@gmail.com.