Dr. Bernard Gerald Levine

1927 - 2019

Dr. Bernard Gerald Levine

Toms River - Dr. Bernard Gerald Levine, 91, of Toms River, NJ, passed away on Saturday, March 9, 2019.

Born May 24, 1927, to Max and Sonia (Koppel) Levine, he and his older brother, the late Seymour Levine, grew up in Brooklyn, NY, before the family purchased a farm in Freehold, NJ, where they raised poultry.

Dr. Levine received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from Rutgers University in 1951 before attending the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia. He graduated in 1955, first in his class.

In 1953, Dr. Levine married his college sweetheart, Dorothy Inez Lott, in New Brunswick, NJ, and they raised three children. He married his devoted wife, Anita Levine, in 1982.

Dr. Levine founded Toms River Veterinary Hospital in 1956, treating family pets as well as the cows, horses, sheep, and chickens on Ocean County's many farms. Dr. Levine was one of the nation's pioneers of the surgical treatment of heartworm disease in dogs. He served as president of the American Heartworm Society and lectured internationally about the disease.

He was involved from a young age with 4-H, served as president of the New Jersey Veterinary Medical Association, a member of the Dover Township Board of Health, and as emergency veterinary coordinator for Ocean County.

After becoming semiretired in 1998, he continued to work part-time at the veterinary hospital into his mid-80s, alongside his son, Dr. Richard Levine, who joined the practice in 1981. The elder Dr. Levine also studied to become one of the area's few "fish doctors," treating ill pond fish, and even performing surgery on koi.

Known as Bernie and simply "BG," Dr. Levine was a talented violinist who performed for some 30 years with the Garden State Philharmonic, for much of that time as associate concertmaster. He loved playing tennis, scuba diving, photography, sailing on the Barnegat Bay, tending to his expansive flower and vegetable gardens, smoking cigars and pipes, telling jokes, and creating elaborate woodworking projects.

He enjoyed many great adventures with the late Pete McLain in the Sedge Islands, before giving up hunting. In 2010, Dr. Levine saved the life of a Canada goose that had been shot with an arrow, becoming known worldwide through media reports about the "Smart Goose" that wisely landed in the veterinarian's yard.

He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Anita; his former spouse, Dorothy Lawrence, of Toms River; their three children, Diana Madaras and her husband Michal Tymosiak, of Tucson, AZ; Dr. Richard Levine and his wife Catherine Drake, of Stowe, VT; and Sandra Levine and her husband Michael Fairhurst of Toms River; his grandchildren Julia Rogers, of Stowe, VT, Bridget Phillips, of Montpelier, VT, and Caroline Fairhurst of Toms River; and his great-grandchildren Nora and Claire Rogers, of Stowe, VT.

He is also survived by his nephew Joel Levine of Edmond, OK, and niece Denise Sumner, of Columbia, MD, as well as other loving family members and friends.

A celebration of Dr. Levine's life will be held Saturday, May 4, 4:30-6:00 p.m., at the Toms River Country Club. Please email attendance to diana@madaras.com.

Donations in Dr. Levine's memory may be made to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Student Scholarship Fund.