NORMAN LEVY

1931 - 2022

LEVY--Norman B., M.D. May 28, 1931 - January 11, 2022. Dr. Levy was born in Brooklyn and attended Erasmus High School, NYU and SUNY Downstate Medical Center, receiving his M.D. in 1956. Initially, he worked as an academic general psychiatrist and began a private practice which he maintained for 63 years. Following service in the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Levy trained in psychosomatic medicine which focuses on meeting the psychiatric needs of the medically ill. His research focused on patients suffering from kidney disease and he coined the name psychonephrology, the study of the psychological issues that affect kidney disease patients. He authored books, numerous journal articles, chapters in medical texts, and organized eleven conferences on this subject. Dr. Levy's first wife, Lya, and the mother of his three daughters, Karen, Susan and Joanne, passed away at a young age. Dr. Levy then married Carol Spiegel, also a psychiatrist in New York City and the mother of his son, Robert. For the past 15 years, Dr. Levy lived in Los Angeles and was married to Belle Frieman. Norman never missed a day of reading The New York Times. In addition to his family, he loved the practice of medicine from which he retired three months prior to celebrating his 90th birthday in 2021.