John Bernard Levy

John Bernard Levy There are tears on the computer keyboard today as I write this obituary to announce the passing of John Levy. He died in his home in Tiburon on December 20, 2006 after a short illness. John was born Hans Bernard Levy in Konstance, Germany in 1921. He often stated that one of the highlights in his young life was a visit as a schoolchild where he was taken aboard the airship Graph Zeppelin. In 1936, the Nazis arrested John's parents. They were sent to a concentration camp, never to be heard of again. John escaped to Switzerland, which was a mere two miles from Lake Konstance. He was granted a temporary visa until he obtained a visa for Paraguay, South America, where he stayed for the duration of World War II. When hostilities ended, John immigrated to San Francisco where he worked for a furniture store named House of Karlson for over 45 years. John was an exceptionally kind and generous human being. His greatest pleasure in life was holding his annual birthday party. Each year, he held a birthday party and a dinner for his close friends, which numbered over 80 people. John had no immediate family, but always considered his friends to be family. He will be sadly missed by all those who knew him. There will be a Memorial and Celebration of John's life at Marin Joe's in Corte Madera on February 3 at 1 :00pm.