February 19, 2015

Joyce Levine

Joyce Levine's family roots stretched across several countries before reaching South Africa. Her father was born in Lithuania and was considerably older than her mother, a reserved and polite man who worked in cattle and farming in a rural region of the Karoo. Her mother was born in Belgium during the First World War, and her parents took the children to England, where they were later orphaned. Unable to be supported in England, the children were sent to family in South Africa, settling in Cape Town. Educated in England, Joyce's mother was lively and involved in her children's lives, in contrast to her quieter father. Joyce grew up in Muizenberg with an older brother, an older sister, and a younger sister.

Joyce attended public school in Muizenberg and, after completing her final year, trained in shorthand and typing, going on to work as a secretary for many years. She later moved to Johannesburg, where she met her husband David, who was introduced to her by a cousin. Ten years her senior, David had a difficult early life, raised along with his siblings by his mother alone, and he worked as a sales representative in the wood and timber business. The couple enjoyed a long and happy marriage of more than fifty years and raised four children, dividing their time between Cape Town and Johannesburg.

The family kept a kosher home, observed Shabbat and the holidays, and belonged to an Orthodox synagogue. Joyce was active in Jewish communal life, volunteering with the Jewish women's benevolent society and working in the head office of the Jewish community in Cape Town, where she assisted a rabbi whose guidance became an important influence in her life. As conditions in South Africa changed and her children emigrated, Joyce and David eventually came to the United States, living for a time in Tulsa near their daughter before settling in Dallas. There she cared for David during his long illness at a care facility until his death. She later moved to Town Village, where she has found a lively and uplifting community, and she takes pride in the life and values she and David gave their children.

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