Irene Levin Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

LEVIN, Irene J. (92) Plagued with isolation, hopelessness, and concentration camp flashbacks brought on by the COVID-19 lockdown, an innocuous trip to the emergency room for gastritis turned into a life ending journey. Irene succumbed to the lockdown on July 30, 2020, under hospice care, in her assisted living facility. Irene was born Josepha Weil in Duchov CZ on August 28, 1927, to Kamil and Irena Weil. Her father, Kamil, died shortly before the Nazi invasion of the Sudetenland (CZ) in 1938. Irene survived four concentration camps and a death march prior to liberation in 1945. When Irene came to the United States in 1947, she adopted the name of her beloved mother, who perished at Bergen-Belsen. Irene married Joseph Levin in 1949, raised three children, and lived in their home in Hammond, IN for forty years. Twenty-two of those years were spent working as a tailor and machine operator at Winer Mfg. (Stratojac). Their 40th wedding anniversary gift to themselves was a well-earned retirement move to Oldsmar, FL. In Oldsmar, Irene was an active Hadassah Life Member and one of the contributors to the 1997 creation of the Tampa Bay Holocaust Museum and Education Center in St. Petersburg, FL. Her audio story was one of those presented in the museum’s Hall of Memories. Irene’s story was also recorded as part of Steven Spielberg’s ‘Shoah Project,’ resident at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC. Joe and Irene enjoyed travel and their five grandchildren. She even rode an elephant for her grandsons. Shortly after Joseph’s passing in 2017, Irene relocated to Cedar Village in Mason, OH, to live near her daughter and son-in-law. During her time in Cincinnati, she was embraced by the Holocaust & Humanity Center, where she presented her story as a member of their speaker’s bureau. She was tremendously proud of her YouTube video, made in 2018, which made her unedited story available to the public in the age of the internet. Irene is survived by her children, Jack K. Levin of Northbrook, IL, Susan & Michael Stein of Highland Park, IL, and Ruth & George Barnett of Maineville, OH; grandchildren, Ira Barnett of Silver Spring, MD, Ronald & Rebecca Barnett of Overland Park, KS, Harrison Stein of NYC, Emily Stein of Vernon Hills, IL, and Zachary Stein of Lafayette, LA. Irene also lived to see her dearest great-grandson, Max Barnett, turn three years old and meet her look-alike great-grandson, Joshua Barnett. Local arrangements by Weil-Kahn Funeral Home of Cincinnati with interment at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens of Palm Harbor, FL. No funeral was held. Memorial Donation may be made to the Holocaust & Humanity Center, 1301 Western Ave, Cincinnati, OH. 45203.

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Irene Levin

August 28, 1927 - July 30, 2020