Barbara Lee Levitt

Barbara Lee Levitt was born in Brooklyn and never left it in her heart.  She was the daughter of the late Kay (Miller) and Harry Robinson and came into this world on Oct. 4, 1950. She was the loving wife of Joel, daughters Jessica Bittner (Joseph) and Lia Levitt and grandchildren Haley, Briella and Joey Bittner, sister-in-law of Ira Levitt (Barbara Harfosh), aunt of Joshua Levitt (Melissa) and great aunt of Jacob.

Barbara was shy and soft-spoken throughout her childhood (probably no one would believe that now) and met her future husband Joel (also shy, can ya believe it?) when she was a sixteen-year-old freshman and Joel, an 18-year-old sophomore at a Hillel Foundation event at Brooklyn College.

Hillel not only enhanced their commitment to lead Jewish lives, but stripped away all elements of shyness by enabling them to grow into adults committed to social justice and community organizing.

Barbara and Joel married on April 8, 1973. Barbara began working as an administrative assistant at Brooklyn College and Joel as an art teacher at Erasmus Hall HS. Job layoffs during the NYC fiscal crises of the mid’70s led them to relocate to New London (where daughter Lia was born) and then Niantic, CT, where they lived for several years. There, they co-published $uper$aver, a monthly shoppers’ newspaper, with Barbara doing sales and Joel, illustrations.

New jobs beckoned and they moved to Danbury where daughter Jessica shortly joined the family. A stay-at-home Mom at first, Barbara soon joined the (Danbury) “News-Times as their first “Newspaper-in-Education” director, training teachers how to incorporate the newspaper into their daily curriculum. Her expertise and enthusiasm led her to become a popular presenter at NIE conferences throughout the country. She built an enormous program regionally and helped train colleagues nationally. She was promoted and retired 23 years later as Educational Services Manager at the paper.

Barbara was a devoted and loving mother, always offering unique opportunities and encouragement. She was proud of her daughters’ many accomplishments. When the grandkids arrived on the scene, her second act was a blessing. Barbara and Joel blissfully took care of their twin granddaughters Haley and Briella from preemies to kindergarten and their grandson Joey from infancy until he entered school. Grandchildren: the gold in our golden years!

Barbara’s involvement in Greater Danbury was legendary. If there was a need in the community, it was just a pothole to be filled on the road to resolution. She couldn’t quite comprehend the meaning of the word, “No”. She was a steamroller with a heart of gold and undeterred, would forge ahead. Either jump out of her way, or get flattened. Yet, she was a bridge-builder, with a unique way of bringing people together and a kind and generous mentor for adult and young women through area social services agencies.

She was the co-founder of “World of Difference”, an educational program that brought anti-prejudice and diversity programming into area schools and organizations. She was a co-founder of a summer day camp and the founder and fundraiser of the local chapter of PJ Library, an international program bringing free Jewish books to Jewish children.

After moving to New Milford to take care of our grandchildren, she volunteered in that community. She worked at the nonprofit NM Thrift Shop and was a tutor for the child of an Afghan refugee family who had been resettled in town, a family she loved.

Heavily involved in the Jewish community, Barbara was a trustee of Congregation B’nai Israel in Danbury for many years and a Past Vice President. She was for a time, employed as the liaison between all of the Jewish Federations in CT and their sister city in Israel. She first travelled there as the editor of her college Jewish student newspaper, where her fiery red hair was unique, lending her the nickname, “Gingy”, a name that she later passed on to our first and only dog, also a redhead. Almost all of our many cats, however, were named after Brooklyn delicacies: “Bagel”, “Cheesecake”, Babka, etc. You get the point.

Barbara and Joel organized local celebrations of their home town. Their first, a Brooklyn Night at the synagogue featured Brooklyn foods and memorabilia, the highlight of which was Sandy Koufax’s original rookie baseball card. They created two annual “Back to Brooklyn” bus tours of off-the beaten path sites and always had waiting lists. The events were extravaganzas. Barbara did nothing small.

Barbara died of cancer on July 5, 2024. She lit up a room when she entered, not just because of her natural hair color, but because of her kindness, commitment, and larger-than-life personality. For her family, friends and community, her death is a tragedy. Yet for all of us, her life was a triumph!

In lieu of a funeral, there will be a Celebration of Barbara’s Life, date TBA. A private graveside service will be held at Congregation B’nai Israel cemetery. Shiva will begin from Sunday, July 7 through Thursday, July  11 from 3pm-8pm and Friday, July 12 from 11am-2pm at the home of Jessica and Joe Bittner, 8 Sand Rd., New Milford.

Barbara was the recipient of outstanding care during her illness from staff and volunteers at the Diebold Family Cancer Center at New Milford Hospital and Regional Hospice of Western CT in Danbury. We are grateful for their compassion and professionalism.

If you wish to make a donation in her memory, either of the above or Congregation B’nai Israel or a nonprofit of your choosing, would be appreciated.