Alan LevinsonApril 22, 1951 - August 31, 2017Alan Levinson passed away unexpectedly doing what he loved most--swimming with friends. Alan grew up in Yonkers, NY, skipping Hebrew School to catch double-headers at Yankee Stadium. He picked up the saxophone while attending Gorton Junior/Senior High School and then headed upstate to the University of Rochester. After a few years of good hippying and travel that took him from inside the Iron Curtain to the driver's seat of a taxi, he completed a Master in Industrial Relations at the University of Wisconsin and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. There he began a career dedicated to workers and the public interest, working for unions, the California Department of Industrial Relations, the Oakland Unified School District, and the City of Berkeley.
Alan met Micki Callahan in 1983 and she swept him off his feet. They married in 1986 and had two daughters together, Michelle in 1989 and Robyn in 1992. Among the souvenirs he "collected" over a well-adventured life were a home plate from the visitor's bullpen at Yankee Stadium, beer steins from Octoberfest in Munich, and a hammock from the Yucatan peninsula. He swam for politics (Greenpeace anti-nuclear protest), performance (the Manhattan Island Marathon Swim and the Escape from Alcatraz), and pleasure with the Manatees Aquatic Masters and the South End Rowing Club, a passion shared with his younger daughter, Robyn.
Alan was an avid musician, playing the alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone in four bands that covered everything from Sousa to Amy Winehouse. He brought his contagious smile and positive attitude to his volunteer work with the Jack London Youth Soccer League and the Oakland Running Festival, and leadership positions in Pacific Masters Swimming, the PTA, and the Oakland Ski Club. He loved watching Bay Area sports, but his favorite teams were the ones on which his daughters played. Alan was preceded in death by his mother Estelle Scott Levinson and his fathers, Ira Furst and Ike Levinson. He is survived by his wife Micki Callahan, daughters Michelle and Robyn Levinson, brother Ernest Levinson, sister Sue Kessner, as well as nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Donations can be made in his memory to the local non-profits JustHealth510.org and FeatherRiverCamp.com. A memorial will be held at the South End Rowing Club at 2PM on September 16th, 2017; swimmers are invited to arrive early to join in a cove swim in honor of "Hot Tub Al."