My father, John H. Levender, Sr., of Lindenhurst, NY passed away peacefully on August 30, 2013 at age 91. Born in Woodhaven, NY on November 8, 1921, he was a life-long resident of New York, attended and graduated Franklin K. Lane High School. He also attended St. John’s University in Queens, NY. After President Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor Speech, John enlisted in the US Marine Corps in late 1941, and served honorably in the Pacific Theatre during WW II, achieving the rank of Sergeant. After V-J Day, Dad was honorably discharged and returned to New York. After his mother finally agreed to the plan, he applied for a position with the New York City Police Department, accepted after he passed the NYPD Police Officer Entrance Exam. While at the Police Academy he met and fell in love with Helen Tirpak, and they married in September 1947. During his twenty-two year career at NYPD, he rose to the rank of Captain. His responsibilities included Head of Special Events and Head of Traffic Unit B in Midtown Manhattan. In these capacities, he was responsible for the safety of almost every world leader and celebrity in the fifties and sixties during their visits and appearances in New York, including addresses to the United Nations. This notable list included The Beatles, Fidel Castro, Pope John XXIII, Nikita Khrushchev, The Rolling Stones (Dad was no huge fan of Mick Jagger) and, of course, Frank Sinatra. With one exception (William Clinton), dad met with and/or helped protect every US president from Harry Truman on to George Hebert Walker Busch. In early 1980, when I was visiting my dad on the job one day, he surprised me by introducing me to presidential candidate Ronald Reagan just after Reagan had been interviewed for a cover story in Time Magazine on his candidacy, a brief meeting I’ll never forget. Shortly after he retired from the NY Police Department, Dad was recruited into a second career as Director of Security & Operations for Rockefeller Center Incorporated. He served for sixteen years, retiring in 1984. From a son’s point of view, it meant I had a golden ticket into Radio City Music Hall, free midtown parking, and seeing Saturday Night Live or David Letterman whenever we would ask. I especially enjoyed that I could take people up to the top of the RCA building whenever I wanted; all the elevator operators worked for Dad (I just checked on the Internet; it costs $27 to ride to “The Top of the Rock” today, after waiting in a long line). John Levender loved Helen Tirpak Levender more than anything else in the world, and they truly enjoyed their life together. Skiing, lake vacations, cruises, Broadway Plays, Poker, Pinochle, and most of all, the gang getting together in the party that went from house to house and seemingly never ended. Pure sixties; cocktails, laughs, arguments, good food and, at the end of the night, group singing until the wee hours. She left him far too early; he missed her terribly, until this past Friday. Dad was beloved father of Lorraine Whittlesey, Gerianne Reilly Smith, John, Jr. and me, Michael Thomas. John was the beloved grandfather of Joey, Gina, Chrissy, Eddie, John, Danny, Michelle, Mike Jr., Matthew, Meghan, Marc and Carly, whose birthdays and holidays his generosity never forgot. Then he was blessed with six great-grandchildren, Dylan, Mia, Sara, Hanna, Eric and Luke.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Sep 2013 15:56:19 +0000
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