Fred Levy Obituary (2007) - Minnetonka, Minnesota

Fred Paul Levy, Age 90. After three previous attempts over a long life, death finally claimed Fred on December 15 because of a fall he took on the golf course at his club in Boca Raton two days earlier. Fred was playing his best game in years just before he fell. An avid and committed golfer since age 15, his golf course was a fitting place to end his life. Fred was born in Oklahoma 10 years after it became a state, and he lived there until his mid-teens, among oil workers, ranchers and indians. (77 years later, Fred still admired his Cherokee Boy Scout Troop leader.) Fred’s personality was shaped by his environment making him tough, resilient, skeptical and stubborn. This helped him when he moved with his parents and four brothers and sisters, to St. Louis in the middle of the depression to get a fresh start; Oklahoma was drying up. Fred’s experience in the depression gave him a great sympathy for the underdog which he never lost. After graduating high school (in the accelerated program as he liked to point out), Fred became a very successful sales representative for a shoe company in St. Louis. His employers liked him so much, they kept paying his draw while he was in the army. Fred joined the Army Airforce in 1942. After going overseas, he ran the war room for his medium bomber wing (B-26’6). He was bombed once, Fred said, “Once was enough”. Fred was offered the Bronze Star at the end of the war, but he made sure a friend received it instead to help his friend accumulate enough points to go home. Later, Fred said he wished he had kept the medal. Fred married Gloria in 1943 after knowing her 5 days. Their happy marriage lasted 60+ years until her death in 2004. Two people with one voice, at least if you were on the phone with Gloria; Fred liked to help her with the conversation. Fred took very goo care of Gloria in her later years after she became ill. Fred, his father-in-law Charlie Redman, and their friend and partner, Jim Ridgway, built a number of shopping centers in the Midwest, including Miracle Mile in St. Louis Park. Famously, they didn’t build shopping centers in Caracas and Havana, in partnership with Nelson Rockefeller, because of two separate revolutions, including Castro’s; they did have a lot of fun. Fred and Gloria thoroughly explored this country after their retirement, and Fred played thousands of golf games. They spent winters in Boca Raton, Florida with their dozens of friends, many of whom came from the Twin Cities. It was a pleasant time for them. Fred was a loyal and devoted husband, father, sometime soldier, shopping center developer, golfer, unofficial food critic, and great friend. He will be missed. Survived by his three sons, and daughters-in-law, Chris and Marion, Robert and Shari, and Mike; grandchildren, Danielle, Max and Brian. Funeral service TUESDAY, 2:00PM, HODROFF-EPSTEIN MEMORIAL CHAPEL, 126 E. Franklin Ave, Mpls. Memorials preferred to Sholom Home. Hodroff-Epstein 612-871-1234 Online guestbook at: www.hodroffepstein.com