Susan Levitt

SUSAN LEVITT (1945-2019) A REMEMBRANCE

Susan Levitt, a Pacifica, California resident for the last 21 years, died unexpectedly on August 25th at age 74. Born in Panama City, Florida and raised in her father's hometown of Detroit, Michigan, Susan graduated from Mumford High School in 1963. Restless and adventurous, she eschewed the well-worn path to Ann Arbor and chose Middlebury College in Vermont where she graduated in 1967.

By fall of that year, Susan was off to Scotland where she completed a Master's Degree in English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. By her own account, her time in Scotland provided a greater cultural than scholarly benefit as few invitations to explore the Scottish lifestyle were refused.

Arriving in San Francisco in the waning days of the Haight-Ashbury movement, Susan befriended many momentarily famous counterculture figures. Even then, people were drawn to her winning personality and solidly midwestern skepticism. She was an amused observer just outside the camera lens, gathering information for a rollicking tale of someone else's misspent youth.

Firmly entrenched in the Haight by late 1969, Susan spent four years as a copy editor at a major publishing house. Determined to disappoint her parents, she left publishing and began a decade-long employment odyssey that included managing a San Francisco yarn shop then serving as business manager for an employment law firm.

Unambitious, but highly skilled, Susan found her professional calling joining Nikon Precision Inc. in 1984. For the next 25 years, she brought her brand of old-school humanism to the human resources arena serving as HR Director for Nikon in the U.S. During her tenure, Susan was the heart of the organization, the keeper of its institutional memory and a relentless advocate for its workforce.

Susan was a sophisticated, well-educated woman who understood the value of a half hour spent perusing People Magazine for a hint of British Royal Family shenanigans. Before the world wide web, before TMZ, before Bravo, she fought to elevate celebrity gossip to a socially acceptable, even admirable guilty pleasure.

Pre-internet, friends and followers relied on her carefully culled and curated lists of recommended tv shows, books, films and art exhibits. She was a noted tastemaker and influencer who demonstrated a singular gift for predicting the next big thing irrespective of genre or the age of the artist.

Surging home values and the lack of a designated parking spot drove Susan to leave San Francisco and buy a house in Pacifica in 1988. The town suited her. The community was artsy, middle class and welcoming. The Pacific Ocean beckoned just down the hill. She made friends and created a warm and welcoming home where she hosted countless memorable gatherings of friends and family.

She hated hot weather and loved the first hint of afternoon fog rolling in on the coastline. More than anything, she loved a good story. That was her currency of choice. She told her stories but retold yours, too. And she made your stories better; more dramatic, tighter paced, and told to greater comic effect. She was a gifted editor until the end.

Susan reveled in her role as a bad influence aunt to beloved nieces Molly & Allison. She was a devoted pet lover, sharing her home with a long line of quirky feline freeloaders including Lemon, Bones, Mr. Limo, Fergie, Mrs. Dalloway, Rudy, Nina and a few whose names and exploits have been lost to history.

Susan was a gifted needlepoint artist and weaver. One reviewer described her needlepoint work as "artistic, intricate, and perfectly executed." Her canvasses and pillows remain highly sought after and are included in many eclectic Bay Area art collections.

Perhaps her greatest gift was her knack for fellowship, for creating a sense of community, for making you feel interesting, appreciated and connected. She loved gatherings and she loved being at the center of those gatherings, holding court, ensuring that levity and laughter reigned.

Her ability to find the humor, the irony or the ridiculous in any situation sustained her. Her intrepid and shrewdly perceptive comments belied her sympathy, generosity, kindness, and compassion toward others. Susan was a blithe spirit, a kind friend to all. Her absence will be profoundly felt. In death, as in life, she will not be easily forgotten.

Susan is survived by her brother Dick Levitt of Sacramento, brother David Levitt and sister-in-law Beth Singer of Detroit, brother Michael Levitt of Newport, R.I., and nieces Allison Levitt of Sacramento and Molly Levitt of San Francisco. She was preceded in death by her father Morton Levitt in 1980 and her mother Lucille Keller Levitt in 2018.