Katherine Levin Obituary

Levin, Katherine Northrup Born March 9, 1943, in Parkersburg, WV, the first child of Francis O'Donnell Northrup and Alice Ellsmore Vall Spinosa Northrup. Since 1970, she lived in and around Chicago and was a current resident of Evanston, Illinois, but as her valiant battle against cancer came to an end she chose to die among friends and family in her beloved hometown of Parkersburg, West Virginia. Educated in Wood County schools, she was a graduate of Parkersburg High School and Vassar College of Poughkeepsie, New York. After graduating from Vassar, she studied at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland), earned a masters degree from the University of Chicago and a law degree from Loyola University (Chicago). She is survived by her stepson, Andrew Levin of San Francisco, California, and stepdaughter Erika Levin and her two children, Molly and Meryl, of Woodbury, Connecticut; four brothers, Tom, Frank, Tim and Chris, and many more nieces, nephews and cousins. She was preceded in death by her husband of forty years, Howard Levin, and her father and mother. Katherine, better known as Kak to her friends and family, worked in London and Boston, prior to settling in Chicago. For nearly 20 years she worked as a writer or publications manager for several non-profits including the Harvard Press, Chicago State University, Easter Seals, and the University of Chicago. In 1980 she and her husband edited and published, "Dorothea Lange: Farm Security Administration Photographs, 1935-1939," two volumes of text and photos from the Library of Congress on the Dust Bowl refugees which was described by Library Journal as "an outstanding event in photographic publishing." In 1982 she decided "out of the blue" (her words) to go to law school. After four years of night school at Loyola law, she worked for 20 years at a state agency that administered the collective bargaining statute for employees of the public schools and universities in Illinois. More than half of that time was spent as an administrative law judge, hearing and deciding cases of alleged unfair labor practices. She also mediated cases in the Cook County circuit court. Kak loved gardening, drawing, volunteering, her dogs, the Chicago White Sox and travel. Memorial contributions would be appreciated for Trinity Episcopal Church's priest discretionary fund. The family is making plans for a memorial service in the spring. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.leavittfuneralhome.com