Leon Levine

Leon Levine died peacefully on February 6, 2019 just 11 days after his 97th birthday. Leon was born on January 26, 1922 in Bridgeport, Connecticut as the middle child of Mary and Jacob Levine (both deceased). He was an inquisitive and intellectual person his whole life – an avid reader and history buff, especially in all things related to the Civil War. He was a member of the chess team at Bassick High School, a member of the accounting society and debate club at Temple University, and a member of the Sigma Xi society at MIT where he graduated with bachelor’s and master’s of science degrees in electrical engineering in 1949 and 1950 respectively. After nearly 20 years in industry working on some of the first computers at Hughes Aircraft and Scientific Data Systems, Leon began his teaching career in 1964 at UCLA’s Department of Computer Science. He loved teaching, especially the introductory classes, and remained on the faculty as a Senior Lecturer and Extension instructor until fully retiring in 1999.

Leon was a veteran of World War II. He served from 1942 to 1946 in Patton’s Army as an assistant driver of a Sherman Tank. He loved his country and was about to re-enlist and fight in the Pacific when the war came to an end.

He was beloved by many in part because of his happy, upbeat, go-with-the-flow attitude, his wonderful sense of humor, his mastery of puns, his love of all things chocolate and his smile which lit up his face and went from ear to ear. He is survived by his wife – Edi Chanock, his sister – Ruth Cooper, his children (and their spouses) – Beth Firestone, Eve Schenker (Nathaniel Schenker), and Rob Chanock (Victoria Chanock-Pride), and his grandchildren – Joseph Schenker and Austin Chanock. He lived a long and happy life, and he will be missed by all who knew him.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to Fisher House (cms.fisherhouse.org – a charity that helps military families) or Common Cause (www.commoncause.org – a charity dedicated to ensuring an open, honest and accountable government). Interment with military honors will be held on Friday, March 29th at 10 am at Miramar National Cemetery (San Diego, CA). For further information, please contact Eve at [email protected] or 301-263-0207. The best way to honor Leon … tell a good pun, eat something sweet especially if it’s chocolate, and wear anything that is red (it was his favorite color).