SYDELLE LEVINE, nee Sydelle Golden but known to the world as “Simmie”, died on August 13, 2022, at age 93, surrounded by people who love her, in her home at the Green Hill Condominium in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, where she had lived for the past 15 years.
The youngest child of Rose and Sam Golden, Simmie was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Divorced from her first husband, Ernest Arons, Simmie raised their daughter Linda as a single mother. In 1972, Simmie married a widower, Dr. Samuel A. Levine, became stepmother to his three teenage and preteen children, and moved to their house in Mount Vernon, New York. Dr. Levine passed away in 2016.
In addition to her late husband, Simmie was predeceased by her brother Henry Golden (Blanche) and sister Jeanne Kalinsky (Frank). She is survived by her daughter, Linda Olitsky (Morris); stepchildren Karen T. Levine (Andrew Sisson), Laurie Levine-Lowen (Frank Lowen), and Barry H. Levine; grandchildren Stacy Olitsky, Elana Salzman (Noah), Neal Olitsky (Leanna), Tara Frady Armstrong (Price) and Kaeti Frady; and great-grandchildren Rose Weathers, Eden Weathers, Aviva Olitsky, Shira Salzman, Chaya Salzman and Talia Olitsky. She was a devoted mother, stepmother, grandmother and great-grandmother to all of them.
Simmie had a long and successful career as a teacher in the New York City public schools, and was later promoted to Liaison between the Board of Education and parent-teacher associations. Always active in her community, she was an Ombudsman for families of patients in nursing homes and was a leader of the Sinai Free Synagogue of Mount Vernon, where she was honored as Woman of the Year in 2005. In the Green Hill Condominium, she edited the bimonthly newsletter for over ten years, continuing the work into her nineties. Simmie was also an author, writing a play that was later produced, and publishing a children’s biography of Revolutionary War heroine Sybil Ludington.
Simmie loved social activities and was a born organizer and natural hostess. She threw numerous large family and friend gatherings, most notably the annual “Singalong,” which drew both near and distant relatives. Simmie’s hospitality was famous, along with her expression “mi casa es su casa” (Spanish for “my house is your house”). Relatives and even friends of her stepchildren stayed at the Mount Vernon house, sometimes for many months. Simmie’s generosity to both family and charitable causes was unmatched.
Simmie’s sunny disposition, easygoing attitude, deft interpersonal skills, and intelligence drew people to her, and she enriched the lives of all who knew her. She will be missed by her many friends as well as her large extended family.
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