Alan Levy
Alan Levy came from a large Jewish family in Johannesburg, South Africa. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Lithuania and raised ten children, including his father, who with two brothers ran a leading real estate firm, Levy Brothers estate agents. On his mother's side, his grandfather's family built a large clothing business that manufactured uniforms for the South African police, army, navy, and firefighters. Both of Alan's grandmothers were named Rose. He grew up with a younger brother, Ronald, and a younger sister, Susan, in what he remembered as a joyful, secure, and deeply connected family life.
Alan left South Africa twice. In 1976 he moved to Toronto for a work opportunity, where his daughter Vicki was born, and lived there for four years before returning to South Africa at his parents' request. Those years back home, from 1980 to 1986, let his children come to know all four grandparents. Concerned about the country's future and offered a strong position, he immigrated with his wife Renee to Dallas in the mid-1980s. The move required great effort; he left his first job after about a year and a half and worked intensely for years to rebuild his business, while Renee cared for the family.
In Dallas, Alan and Renee were welcomed by a close South African community, forming friendships that remain among their dearest. He raised his children Brett and Vicki in the Jewish faith, insisting they marry within it, and takes pride in his grandchildren in San Antonio and Dallas. Israel has always felt like home to him, having visited soon after the Six-Day War. He remembers Orthodox family life at the Walnut Street shul in Johannesburg, and his family's warmth and humor, including relatives who competed at Wimbledon and in Davis Cup tennis. Now considering himself an American while honoring his roots, he cherishes family, friends, and his mother's paintings that hang in his home.
Full Transcript
today is Thursday november six and i'm jen agreement and i'm interviewing led as part of the routes to booth project and part of the dallas Jewish Historical Society's are off history project fruit Ellen tells about South African la talk about when and why your family originally immigrated to South Africa and what you can tell us about the early years of everything well my dad's family my ma ba ba and ma zaida came to South Africa from Lithuania and they had a family of 10 children and my dad was one of 10 children there were seven boys and three girls they had a real estate company
my dad with his two brothers called levy brothers estate agents in in Johannesburg which were one of the leading estate agents in in the country at the time and they built up a wonderful business over many years my mom her family strangely enough my mother's mother was rose as well as my dad's mother was also run so we had two roses in the family and and my mom's family my mom's dead came from from Lithuania as well and my late grandfather whose name was Alfred hynix Berg came from his parents came from England and that's as far as I know as far as the back
is concerned and my late grandfather Alfred hynix berg had a huge his family built a huge clothing business called hynix Berg's in South Africa and they manufactured clothing for the police the uniforms for the police the army the Navy whoever firefighters everything they provided the uniforms for for those particular individuals and and then he retired at about 70 years old and that's what I can tell you about my my my grandparents universe Express I knew both sets of grandparents and both were wonderful though very different in their in their ways but very nice people I did not know my my my dad's father was a
he died about two years before I was born his name was Leah built so tell us about your own life growing up in South Africa and your immediate family siblings my life growing up in South Africa just like I'm sure you hear from others was just stunning I mean our our young life and the friends that that are made there and the people that are new family that I had because we were such a big family were was a wonderful upbringing at that particular point of time I know that we were all at that particular point of time living life through rose-colored glasses and we
all enjoyed our life very very much we had freedom we had whatever we wanted and thank God my parents and you're not provided everything they gave us all that I could ever wish for my brother Ronald who is three years younger than me and then I have a sister Susan who is six years younger than me she's now 60 I'm 66 Susan lives in South Africa with my mom I'm not she doesn't live with her she has her own apartment and that takes good care of my mother and his close by my mother is in senior living she's 88 and I'm leaving Dallas very shortly
to go and visit her and Ronald is here he came here about four years ago and has been working really hard to build up his business and thank God it's coming into a good situation with his wife he came with his wife it was quite an amazing story how he got here but just very briefly bottom line is it about 18 years ago Naomi's sister and brother-in-law applied for Ronald allow me to come when they go their citizenship and off when Ronald the plot to come here get a visa to come to Vicki's wedding he was turned down because they said that his green card
is in the works and they couldn't come and he didn't even know about it but he took the advantage and said I'm coming to dallas and unfortunate to have brother here and massa state law alright so those rose-colored glasses let's get back to that how and why did you make the decision to leave South Africa and when was it well when I myself to the things in we did and we made a move twice in 1966 a 98 weather was nineteen sixty-six basically that we made the decision but we left excuse me 70 it was excuse me 1976 we went to to Toronto after I
was offered an opportunity there and we lived in Toronto for four years and we'd added very very nicely there but when I hated the weather we went back to South Africa in December of 1980 and we made a decision after our parents but spoke to us said that they want us back there in South Africa and would we consider coming back I went back to Toronto just to tie things up and i wanted to be very fair to the company that employed me and came back to South Africa with our children vicki was born in toronto and came back to South Africa in 1980 1982
1986 was wonderful for all of us because our kids got to know their grandparents which they wouldn't have done so otherwise so they knew all four of their grandparents and I had six years in which time we got to know them as a family and Vicky and Brett knew their grandparents which was an unbelievable decision at that particular point of time that we made so that's so we stayed in in in South Africa from nineteen eighty to nineteen eighty-seven when we came to to we actually came to I came about in of 1986 so we've been here since 1986 or the green I came at
the end of 1996 and we've been in dallas ever since and what made you change your mind and leave South Africa second time I come to Dallas well things were were a little bit rough in South Africa wasn't quite sure I'm sure just like all of us you know we had our our thoughts about the future and what was going to happen and Brenna's got two sisters here in America and I was offered a very nice position at the time and had an opportunity to to move to America which was absolutely fantastic that I could get and the visa to come here at that particular
and in what way were people helpful to you when you first came to Dallas well the south african community were absolutely I mean it's just amazing the closeness of the south african community here and Renee and myself made friends and acquaintances very swiftly and those friends that we met at that particular point of time our store our closest friends today and what were your first impressions of the United States and in particular well in those days I was much younger was in my late thirties and it was a different impression it was a very new life to us although we had lived in North America
before so we we did have some idea of what we were in for but I had to work very very hard in the first 10 years or 15 years of my career here to build up my business and to build up a life for Ni and myself because the first position that I came to was I exited out of there after about a one and a half years so that you could say was one of the challenges you faced that was a chalet a very big challenge because I was very concerned as to what I was going to do and as most South Africa to
come here you have a certain amount of money that you came with so it was very tough at that particular point of time to to get ahead and to make try and make the correct decisions of moving ahead but Renee was absolutely fantastic in that regard because she really looked after the children and as much as I went to the baseball games and the football games and this type of thing it was heads down just like most husbands in dallas at that particular point of time so tell me about israel how important was that to you growing up in South Africa and is it very
important to you today Israel has always been a very important part of my life I've always thought of it as as home you know for the Jewish people and and when I went to Israel in 1967 it was just after the six-day war Israel was still in its infancy at that particular point of time so I absence so I saw Israel just after the war and what had happened but it was still very small at that particular point of time and you know Renee myself going back there at the end Yuri of 2015 but it has always had a very important role in my mind
for the Jewish people of the world and tell us about Jewish cultural traditions that you had growing up in the levy family and how you brought those have you brought them with you and how have you maintain them yet well my family are very Orthodox so we went to the wall Rowand Street show and those of your funny you mentioned that because those were the best days some of the best days of my life because Walnut Street chill had an upper landing where the woman came downstairs and the meantime you know from from upstairs and the men met the woman and our family because it
was so big I met on that first landing and we took up nearly the whole of the first landing because our family was so big and it was very exciting times I remember a lot of great times over the holidays with my family and and everybody being there I had a few famous people in my family my late there my late dad's brother said who is still alive now is 92 years old he lives in New York with his son he was a springbok tennis player and he played davis cup and wimbledon for South Africans my first cousin Julie mayor's was also Wimbledon Davis Cup
player for South Africa my late uncle Jaime mullah was the mayor of Gehenna and so and you know my parents and my and and my family we've always been pretty sociable and pretty open with one another always our whole lives so we better very very are very fortunate to be brought up in a very close-knit family and we always looked after one another okay and once when you told I should rather run and his wife came to live in Dallas yes and tell us about how your family has grown since you immigrated yo your children and grandchildren well I'll say pray every morning to thank
God that I have the most beautiful family my my son and my daughter both Brett and Vicki married Jewish has husband and wife use negatively and that was one of the most important things that I taught them and Wren I taught them when I was a little bit more lenient than I was but I would not allow that and I made sure that both my kids married Jewish and they appreciate that today very very much because I'm very fortunate that both my kids grew up well they went into any drugs or any issues like that I never ever had problems vicki was a little more
of a builder then then Brett but but they call they both got through it very well and I've been provided with two beautiful grandsons in sin Anya and two beautiful granddaughters in Dallas and I've got a wonderful grand daughter-in-law with Julia she's a fantastic lady and a great mother and my my son-in-law Jason in San Antonio is a wonderful wonderful father and a great person so more than that in life I cannot wish for and I've got wonderful friends here and people that I love and people that are respect and that is the situation up to now you talked about your mother and her sisters
so being in South Africa yes visit there often Rena myself for the lost think about 10 years or so I mean odd we've gone every year to visit since my mom could not be another less than or mom was here was was when on was four bricks wedding for was for Brett's wedding so that was 11 years ago and she's never unfortunately because she had a pacemaker put in the dead particular point of time so I should be very nervous about traveling and coming back so for the past 11 years by CT or 10 years Renee myself go back every year at you know in
about December or January and then we stay for a month and if we take and my sister to cape town for about three weeks and Ren I myself know where to play big day for a week and so I see her every year but this year unfortunately ill health and she cannot walk anymore so she's basically will cheer written right now and so I'm going this year to spend two weeks with her with Brett and who hasn't seen her since you know also for 10 years so it's going to be very exciting and I'm looking forward to that so what if anything do you miss
about your life and South Africa well I miss the old life in South Africa the new life in South Africa is very very different from what we knew it growing up there I think it's a total turn around it's taught a fantastic country and I will always respect and and remember the great times we had there but it's a total new situation when I look back in my life renner myself of spent about thirty four years out of South Africa in total including Canada so you know it's it's a long time but one thing I know I've got friends there who I grew up with
went to school with and who are still very very close to us and the twin ring I myself go be we're always in twined by our past relationships and we have a fantastic time with with those people and especially our family and being together with my mom and my sister so do you consider yourself an American until you have United States intersection there is not a question in my mind that I do at this particular stage of my life consider myself American I will never forget my South African roots and will always appreciate my South African roots but I really consider myself as an American
it was quite a long story arena myself got our citizenship here and because we had a lawyer helping us who unfortunately did not come through for us at the time and I was quite a difficult time in our lives it happened about 20 years ago and Henry a smaller company who was working for them would not allow this to happen that I had a problem and because of my relationship and because of my business ethics and and responsibilities and I've done very well for them because the first time that ever done this but they opened up their books and I opened up the odds to
me and Renee and they organized us to cut our green cards for us within a matter of three months and then we became citizens after five years good yes I'm noticed some artwork above your head with an Adele easy yes tell us about those any artist well just just appreciate detected so much time with me but my mom was a wonderful was wonderful with their hands and everything she had she used to make clothes she used to knit her sweaters she used to make us know that I'll never forget she made us baby Crockett hits remember those does does add some head yeah had we
had we used to wear that I mean whatever we wanted she could make she was absolutely wonderful artist and but most predominantly was pictures that she painted and some of them you can see here in the background which is a few of the many that we've got in our family and many that she sold over the years etc but she she had a wonderful artist top background she got to a fifth year in she was a pocket it and my dad and my dad lania stopped her from going forward with that because he married her and is he didn't want it to work anymore and
so on her final year of architecture she she gave that up so she she just wonderful sweater wonderful way with with my with all of us she just has been the most kind and gentle person you could ever wish to meet tell us about the photographs next to you who with us I thought that's my late dad people come in my sees picture and that ah sweet that's Walt Disney because and the one in the in my study looks like Walton exactly and so he was a great guy he was more not only what their but he was like a buddy I mean anything went
with us and him and his brothers in our office we had a time you won't believe voice had a lot of humor in our family and a lot of happiness and I continued God Phylly to show that and the other kind of rallies and after that that's my leg forward much left side my dad's bye bye yeah and she had ten children as I said and I could never believe how she did it remember her whenever we came to a house she used to be peeling fruit and she used to be handing a TI my king c'mon c'mon kid giving fruit up to the kids
and then her three daughters would stand there braiding her hair which was down to until you rot down to her knees Manatee and I used to braid her hair for her she was a real tomboy she used to ride horses bareback when the old days when she was a a youngster and how she brought up dead children was amazing and she's to tell us the stories of the eldest used to take care of the youngest and she had pots on the stove continually my dad used to tell me because I couldn't understand how she could have raised ten chocolate bath lovely memories anything else Ellen
that we didn't include that you'd like to add well all I'd like to add is that I'm renau myself are so happy in Dallas you know our family and our friends mean the world to us and we try and hopefully show that friendship to all of you our friends and our family that is now here as well and I'm very very proud of what we did in our lives and and how we strived and the energy behind coming here to America starting our lives again and how our family have blossomed and I look at big pictures of our our family and our friends right now
myself go through our pictures funnily enough this morning which is looking for a picture of your dad and I saw all of you guys as well you know 28 years ago when we came here you know how we all looked and what we were all about in those particular days and the friendships that that have grown so substantially over the year so more than this I cannot ask for in life I'm nearing the time where I want to relax a little bit more and changing my life around a little bit now because I feel bad about 85 ad you know our lives kinda like that
yeah we're going to wait to go and I try not to look to those things but one is to blend enjoy our lives that's the most important thing Thank You Ellen appreciate you thank you thank you buddy