Joan Shifrin Levinson

Joan Shifrin Levinson, 93, of Coral Gables, FL, passed away peacefully on March 7, 2024, surrounded by her family. She is survived by her loving husband of 71.5 years: Melvin Levinson; her children: Debra (Howard) Susskind and Michael (Jessica Jonap) Levinson; grandchildren: Hillary Susskind, Daniel (Vivian Jauregui) Susskind, Matthew Susskind, Courtney Susskind, Ava Levinson, and Gabriel Levinson; and her great-granddaughter: Emma Susskind.

Born Joan Marie Shifrin in Chicago, IL, on January 11, 1931, to Adelaide Glenner Shifrin and Max Shifrin, MD. she had a brother, Richard (Dick) who was 2 years older with whom she was very close. Adelaide was a college educated elementary school teacher and Max was a medical doctor (internist). At the time Joan was born, Adelaide was fascinated with French and European history. Accordingly, Joan’s parents decided to name her after two strong women in French history: Joan of Arc and Marie Antoinette. Joan was well named as she was a bright, strong willed, determined, and accomplished individual.

When Joan was 10 years old, her father became concerned about the world war and decided to enlist in the US Navy as a physician officer to do his part. He was stationed in the South Pacific and was gone from home for 2+ years. During this time, Adelaide ran the household while working full time as a teacher. Joan used to comment that she felt like a latchkey kid since her mother was at work when she came home from school. She hated this and vowed that when she had kids, she would be there to greet them when they came home from school. She followed through on this!

Joan was a top student and was the valedictorian of her high school class at Lake View High. She went to Northwestern University, where she studied education, even though her true passion was math and accounting. She said that accounting just was not a profession that was open to women at that time. While at Northwestern, she joined Sigma Delta Tau sorority and lived in the sorority house. One night, as a junior, she had a date that did not go well. She decided to leave her date early – before dinner - and go back to the sorority house. She was hungry but everything was closed. At the same time, three medical students from Chicago Medical School had gone to Wisconsin for fun and were heading back to Chicago with the cheese they had bought on their excursion. One of them had a friend in SDT at Northwestern and they decided to stop and say hello. Another of the three was Mel Levinson. The friend in SDT ran upstairs and told Joan if she really was hungry, there were medical students downstairs with cheese. Intrigued, Joan went down to eat, met Mel, and the rest is history. The cheese sealed the deal.

Joan and Mel fell in love right away, dated for 2 years, and were married at the Ambassador East Hotel in Chicago on June 22, 1952, the same week that Joan graduated from Northwestern and Mel graduated from Chicago Medical School. Joan went to work teaching second grade in Chicago and Mel started his internship and surgery residency. After 3 years, there was a military draft still in effect and Mel, afraid that he would be drafted, decided to voluntarily enlist as an officer. He ranked his choices with the Navy last since both he and Joan were afraid he would be assigned to a ship far away. He of course was assigned to the Navy, but luckily he first was assigned to a Naval Air Station in Hutchinson Kansas. While there, Joan and Mel had their first child, Debra, who was born in Wichita, Kansas. They then were transferred to Stockton, California, before Mel was honorably discharged. After the discharge, they wanted to be near family. Joan was from Chicago. Mel was from Miami. Joan hated winter. Miami became home. Mel did his residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Once Mel finished his residency, he set up his practice in South Miami. Their son Michael was born and Joan focused on family and helping Mel build his practice. She took on the role of practice manager and bookkeeper/accountant, handling finances and payroll, but remaining at home for her children.

Joan immersed herself in life in Miami. She was an avid reader, played tennis competitively, played bridge with the same group of women every week for 50+ years, and focused on raising her family. She had three major tenets: education, family, and doing the right thing. She and Mel were charter members of Temple Beth Am and found satisfaction in helping build that synagogue. Material things were not important to Joan and she was not a shopper or collector. She took immense pride in her education and in being a doctor’s wife. Joan ruled the house. She governed with an iron fist in a velvet glove and was a force to be reckoned with. She hated injustice. That tough exterior guarded a marshmallow heart, and she devoted her whole life to her family. She continuously reminded her family that education is the one thing that no one can take away from you. If she saw one of her children doing something she felt was improper, she would use her catch phrase, “You’ve got to lead a good clean life,” emphasizing there was no other option. She also was quick to wag a finger and say, “Not nice!”

Joan took immense pride in her children, grandchildren, and great-granddaughter. She also loved travel and she and Mel were fortunate to travel all over the world, taking their children with them on many of their excursions, instilling this need to explore in them as well. Later in life Joan and Mel enjoyed spending time in both summer and winter in Colorado, but the thing she cherished the most was spending time with Mel. It did not matter where they were. In fact, as they grew older, they both were very happy to be at home, as long as they were together. The two were inseparable and remained very much in love and devoted to each other for all 71.5 years of their marriage.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Joan to the World Jewish Congress, American Section, www.worldjewishcongress.org.

A funeral service for Joan will be held Friday, March 8, 2024 at 11:30 PM at Riverside Gordon Memorial Chapels at Mount Nebo (Kendall), 5900 SW 77th Ave, Miami, FL 33143.