Jimmie Levay

Obituary of Jimmie D. Levay

SLINGERLANDS - Jim D. Levay of Slingerlands, N.Y. died Thursday, June 28, 2018. Jim was born in Pocahontas, Virginia on July 3, 1933. Jim was the son of Julius and Mary Levay. He was very proud of his Hungarian heritage. His family came to Virginia and the coal mines in the late 1870's. Jim's grandfather died in the mines and Jim's father began working in the mine at age 9 to support his family. Jim's father was an exceptional baseball player and encouraged his sons to play sports and go to college. Jim entered the Navy and then attended Oklahoma State University where he played football. He began teaching in California in 1955 and in the next 35 years he was a teacher, counselor, assistant principal, Principal and Assistant Superintendent in California schools. He was loved by his students, many of whom stayed in touch with him over the years. Jim received his Master's Degree from the University of Southern California. He married Rita Levay in 1973. They loved each other deeply. In 1986 his wife convinced him that the upstate New York weather was not too cold for a southern California boy. He was easily convinced. He retired from education and began working with people with disabilities through Living Resources. When he retired in 2012 he was the Manager of the Employment Program. Jim was predeceased by his parents, his two brothers (Julius and William) and his son James Donald Levay. He is survived by his wife, Rita D. (Cashimere) Levay, nieces Courtney J. Walsh and Jessica Johnson, nephew Michael Johnson, sisters in law Jane Johnson and Nancy Walsh. He is also survived by his loving dog, Renny – the Airedale who thinks that he is a legend in his own mind. Jim was a loving husband, an educator who deeply cared for his students, an advocate for the disabled and a man who cared deeply about social justice. If he was your friend, he was the best friend you could have ever had. His friends loved him, celebrated his great stories and laughed with him over his terrible jokes. Jim will be dearly missed but the care and compassion he modeled for his students, friends and family will live on. His was a life well lived. Relatives and friends are invited to call on Monday, July 2nd from 4 to 7pm at the Applebee Funeral Home, 403 Kenwood Ave., Delmar. Funeral services will be at Blessed Virgin Mary of Czestochowa, 250 Old Maxwell Road, Latham NY 12110 on Tuesday July 3rd at 9 am. Burial will be private at St. Bonaventure Cemetery in Allegany New York. The family asks that contributions be made to the Mohawk Humane Society or Pet Connection in Jim's name.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Jimmie Levay, please visit Tribute Store
Monday
2
July

Visitation

4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Monday, July 2, 2018
Applebee Funeral Home
403 Kenwood Avenue
Delmar
Tuesday
3
July

Mass of Christian Burial

9:00 am
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Blessed Virgin Mary Of Czestochowa
250 Old Maxwell Road
Latham, New York, United States
Service Time: 09:00 AM
Thursday
5
July

Interment at: St. Bonaventure Cemetery

11:00 am
Thursday, July 5, 2018
St. Bonaventure Cemetery
East Main Street
Allegany, New York, United States
Share Your Memory of
Jimmie