Joan Levy Levitt

Joan Levy Levitt passed away peacefully at home in Belmont, MA on January 10, 2021.
She was 93 years old.

Joan was born in 1927, the daughter of Henry Levy and Celia Segal, and sister to younger brother, Edward Levy. She grew up in Springfield, MA.

At the age of 16, Joan graduated from high school and took a bus on her own from Massachusetts to Yellow Springs, Ohio. There, she attended Antioch College where she majored in English and graduated before she turned 21.
It was at Antioch College where she met her future husband, Theodore Levitt. They married at her aunt Sara’s home in Philadelphia on August 1,1948.

Joan and Theodore (Ted) subsequently moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota where Ted taught at the University of North Dakota and Joan worked as a secretary for a local business. Their first two children, John Michael and Frances Beth were born in North Dakota. They then moved to Chicago, Ill. where Ted took a job with Standard Oil and their third child, Kathryn Louise, was born.

Finally, Joan and Ted moved to Massachusetts where Ted took a teaching position at the Harvard Business School and their fourth and fifth children, Laura Christine and Peter Keynes, were born. Joan lived in her home in Belmont, MA for 53 years.

Joan was an avid reader, a crossword puzzle master, and a creative and talented cook. She had many interests and hobbies: gardening, bird watching, astrology, swimming and tennis. At the age of 45 she started taking piano lessons and practicing yoga. She became proficient in both, subsequently playing ensemble music with a group of friends and teaching yoga in her home.

Above all else, Joan was a devoted wife, a loving mother and a dedicated home-maker. She prepared home cooked meals from scratch every evening for her family of seven and, for breakfast, often included the dog with a plate of egg on toast.  

Joan is survived by her four children: John, Kate, Laura (and husband Don,) Peter (and wife Adriana); son-in-law Mark; nine grandsons: Jake (Mayra), Ian (Molly), Christopher (Julia), Matthew (Serena), Joshua (Sam), Thomas, Alexander, Armando and Apolo; four great-grandsons: Henry, James, Jack W. and Jack B. and her dear friend and care-giver Gerry M. Her daughter, Frances, predeceased her in 1999; her husband,Ted, predeceased her in 2006.

A private burial was held on January 14, 2021 at Highland Meadow in Belmont, Massachusetts.
Swdfuneralhome.com

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