Marvin Levinsky

Marvin Levinsky, 83, of DeKalb, passed away peacefully on November 3, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife, Jane [Seymour]; his children, Angie and Allie; his sons-in-law, Eric [Roth] and Mike [Anderson]; and his grandchildren, Anouk and Cleo [Roth]. He was preceded in death by his son, Andrew; his grandchildren, Jackson and Parker [Bollinger]; and his mother, Clara.

Born in Elkhart, Indiana, on September 10th, 1942, Marv was the descendant of Jewish immigrants whose families fled the Pale of Settlement for a better life in America. His father died when he was four, leaving his mother to raise three children on her own. As he described it, he grew up rough and tumble on the wrong side of the tracks. But those early struggles cultivated a fiercely independent spirit that refused to be bound by circumstance and fought, with quiet determination, to build a life of his own making.

He joined the Army Reserve and worked his way through college, earning a pharmacy degree from Purdue University. Left as a single father with his son, Andrew, he later built a life with Jane, and together they raised three children. Marv was the trusted, familiar face of the DeKalb Clinic Pharmacy for 42 years. His pharmacy career exceeded over 50 years of dedicated service to the DeKalb community and beyond. Like his own father, he battled heart disease from an early age. Yet he endured the death of a child, seventeen stents, a heart attack, and cancer to outlast his father's lifespan by forty years. Tough as nails, he refused to give up or give in.

Among his greatest achievements was becoming an exceptional father, despite never having had the privilege of one himself. He instilled in his children his belief that there is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it—and that you should always take pride in your ability to do for yourself. He passed this tacit wisdom on to his grandchildren, who experienced his love through this doing: raking leaves, whittling wood, building bonfires at the lake, and fixing all manner of things. With them, his words were few, but his love and kindness were without question.

One of the last of the Silent Generation—hard-working, dutiful, and resourceful—he exemplified the best of his era, yet he was full of contradictions. Old-school but progressive, he married outside his faith, celebrated his son's gay love, and encouraged his wife to open a business at twenty-one, betting big on her success.

If he seemed gruff, beneath the stoicism was a sensitive and gentle heart that found joy in the small things: mowing the lawn, fishing, woodworking, trips to Menards, and puttering around the house. Beyond this, his driving force was care for those he loved—a steadfast and selfless pursuit that he maintained until the very end. This will forever be his legacy.

May his memory and his example be a blessing to us all.

Shiva, to be held November 9th and 10th, 6:30-8:30pm, 4 Timber Trail, Dekalb, IL 60115

Celebration of Life to be hosted November 29th, 3-7pm, Industrial Artifacts, 230 N 10th St, DeKalb, IL 60115

Arrangements were entrusted to Finch Funeral Home 310 Oak St. DeKalb, IL 60115 815-758-3841.