The Gang of Four

 

The Gang of Four

    My paternal grandparents, Louis and Tillie Levine had 13 grandchildren. We all got along famously and when we got together we had a lot of fun. We treated each other like we were siblings. Between January of 1957 and January of 1958, four cousins were born. Since that time they have been affectionately known as the gang of four.

 

     Melissa Gail Levine was born in January of 1957 in Ohio. She was the third child of Herman and Shirley Levine but grew up in Albuquerque, NM as her family moved there shortly after she was born. Missy, which is what we always called her, graduated from high school in Albuquerque and went on to college at the University of New Mexico where she studied nursing. She never finished due to her mom’s illness but did work as a medical secretary In 1981 she married Kevin Peters and in 1990 they moved to Memphis, TN where Kevin worked for Fedex. They have two children, Denise and Josh. Denise is the first great grandchild of Tillie and Louie and she has two children of her own, Jeremiah and Wren. Missy is the personification of the toughness and perseverance that is commonplace in our family tree. She has battled many health issues and unfortunately she was recently divorced. She always has a smile on her face and so enjoys our family gatherings. 

 

    Stephen Joseph Ringold was born in August of 1957 on the same date as his older brother, Paul. His parents, Helen and Murray Ringold were already living in Levittown, PA when he was born but moved to a new house when Steve was only 3 weeks old.. Steve graduated from Neshaminy High School and went on to college at Temple University in Philadelphia. He transferred to NYU for his Junior year. All through high school and college Steve participated in choir and acting groups and travelled all over the world entertaining people in other countries. Steve is a clown. I mean to say that is his profession. He worked as a clown in the Big Apple Circus for 20 years. He also worked at Paul Newman’s camp for children ill with cancer, and was a regular with the Clown Care Unit (CCU) in children’s wards in hospitals in New York City. All of this was being done while he was delivering seltzer for Murray the Seltzer Man. Steve married Debbie Berkson in 2001 and his son, Max was born in 2002. They live in Brooklyn Heights in a 4th floor walk up. OY!!! Max is off to college and Steve and his business partner, Kim have been pretty successful over the last 16 or so years. Their company, The Grand Falloons have been performing an environmental based program for school kids in New Jersey and New York. They always get rave reviews. 

 

  

      Cheryl Baylee Levine was born in November of 1957 in Erie PA. She is the youngest child of Moe and Minnie Levine and is also my little sister. Cheryl graduated from Academy High School in Erie (the ninth Levine to do so) and then went to the University of Toledo. After one year she transferred to Philadelphia Textile and graduated with a degree in textile management and marketing. Cheryl was always a good seamstress having learned that craft from our mother. Working with cloth and textiles was a natural thing for her to do and after a short stint working as a consultant to a group of textile contractors in Eastern Pennsylvania, she landed a job with Knickerbocker Toy Company and became what I call a stuffed animal engineer. The management of the company was impressed with her enough that they sent her to China on a couple of occasions to work with their contractors in that country. Cheryl married Bob Snyderman in 1984 and eventually moved to Baltimore. They have two children. Cory was born in 1988 and lives in Denver while Melody was born in 1990 and lives in Miami. Melody will be getting married to Jason Sumpter in May of 2022 and we all are very excited about that. Bob and Cheryl divorced in the late 1990’s and unfortunately, Bob died in 2000. Cheryl has been working for Congregation Chizuk Amuno for about 22 years and is looking forward to retiring to Hampton, VA in about a year. She and her boyfriend/partner, Alan Gutman recently bought their retirement home close to the ocean. 

 

     Robert Arnold Levine was born in January of 1958 in Dayton OH. He is the youngest of two boys born to Bernie and Lilly Levine. He attended classes at Wright State University in Dayton for a couple of years. In 1978 Rob moved to Denver, CO. He loved to ski and took advantage of the best ski slopes in America on a regular basis. He doesn’t ski anymore due to a motorcycle accident that was so severe they almost had to amputate his leg. Once he was established in Denver his brother, Eliot followed him there. Rob worked as a painting contractor in the Denver area for many years. His business worked mostly on new construction and at one time had 22 employees. He never got married but has been with his partner in life, Suzi Morrison for over 35 years. Eventually, Rob’s parents moved to Denver. His mother had lived in Denver as a child and she has relatives there. In 1996 Rob’s brother Eliot passed away. His mother died in 2003 and his father died in 2016 at the age of 99. This leaves Rob as the only one alive of his small family unit. Rob is as upbeat and confident as anybody I know. He loves his extended family and never misses an opportunity to get together with them. 

    This “Gang of Four” is a microcosm of what our family and most families are. They are four unique individuals, each with his or her own skills and abilities. They have all had their share of successes and tragedies and they all have careers in four different industries/disciplines. One of them is exciting and outgoing, while another is creative and introspective. One is industrious while another is compelled to do what is necessary. They are all loving and compassionate. They are all intelligent and capable. They are four cousins, born within a twelve month span to four siblings of their grandparents. They don’t get together often enough but when they do it is obvious that they have a bond which is as strong as what their shared DNA dictates. 

                                     More pictures of these knuckleheads below