ROBERT LEVINSON

LEVINSON--Robert A., age 97, died peacefully at home following a battle with brain cancer. From growing up in Baltimore to working as a child for his father, beloved by the townsfolk of Brockway, PA at the family's "Famous Store" to witnessing first-hand the testing of a hydrogen bomb while on a Navy boat and later becoming a leader in manufacturing and processing, Bob maintained his passion for the arts, world affairs, travel and the underprivileged. Above all was his love of family and friends, as he eagerly looked forward every year to the end of July where he presided over the annual "Levinson Weekend" family reunion. After serving in the Navy, he graduated from Dartmouth on a Navy scholarship with an A.B. degree in 1946 and received an MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth later that year. He then attended the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he conducted additional graduate work, both on the G.I. Bill. He had begun his studies before the war at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts. He met his adored Patricia S. Levinson while working on the Adlai Stevenson for President campaign. They married in 1954. She predeceased him in 2015. Bob was Chairman of the Board of Levcor International, a public company engaged in several industry segments, since 1989. Formerly, he served as Chairman, President and CEO of The Duplan Corporation, a leading fabrics and yarns textile company from 1968-1979. He then became the Chairman, President and CEO of Carlyle Industries, Inc., a publicly owned manufacturer of threads, buttons, crafts and gifts, and Chairman of Andrex Industries Corporation, a company engaged in textile manufacturing and processing, from April 1979 to May 1995. From 1979 to 1986, he was President of Dillon Yarn Corporation, a texturizer of polyester filament yarn. From 1977 to 1987, Mr. Levinson was Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sheldon Petroleum. Robert Levinson was a member of the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Museum from 1968 to 1994, where he served as Chairman from 1972 to 1984. He was a former Chairman and member of the Advisory Board of The National Dance Institute (plus its four affiliated programs in the United States and 6,000 students in China), Chairman Emeritus and member of the Board of The Harlem School of the Arts, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Committee on United States-China Relations and was on the Advisory Committee of the Center for U.S.-China Arts Exchange at Columbia University. Mr. Levinson was also on the Board of Overseers of the Hood Museum, the Hopkins Performing Arts Center at Dartmouth and the New York- Beijing Sister City Advisory Committee. Additionally, he served as a member of the Advisory Board at the World Policy Institute of the New School and the Board of the National Academy of Design Museum and School. He remained an involved trustee of the Institute of Current World Affairs and co-chair of the Patricia S. Levinson Center for the Community Cultural Affairs department at Mount Sinai in New York until his death. In 1985, Bob and his wife established the Robert A. and Patricia S. Levinson Award Fund, which supports five fellowships in perpetuity: one trains health care workers to help vulnerable populations; a second creates a pipeline to train underrepresented minorities to become doctors and serve their communities; a third helps emerging artists; a fourth helps chronically ill children leave hospitals to return to their homes and a fifth helps Americans explore a country for two years returning after that time to educate the public. Connecting all of his philanthropic work was his passion to provide opportunities for young people to achieve success in social services, the arts and medicine. He was respected for his incredible knowledge, ethics and never-ending energy that helped guide each nonprofit to new pathways and audiences. Robert A. Levinson, a son of Louis and Frieda Levinson, is survived by his daughter Margot and two sons, Drew and John as well as their spouses: John Gantz, Jr, Karen Levinson, and Ronna Levinson. He has five grandsons: Craig, Jamie, Kyle, Jack and Dean. He was predeceased by his brother and two sisters. The family plans to hold a celebration of Mr. Levinson's life sometime in the fall. Donations in his memory may be made to The Patricia S. Levinson Center for Multicultural & Community Affairs at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. E-Mail: cmca@mssm.edu