Susan Levine was deemed the backbone of spirituality and religious identity at Congregation B'nai Israel, a synagogue near Fayetteville.
She served as a part-time rabbi who led the synagogue in prayer. She tutored bar and bat mitzvah students in her home when the synagogue, which serves the south metro area, lacked a permanent facility. She acted as an administrator, overseeing office work to keep the synagogue running. Since 1982, she'd been affiliated with the Reform Jewish congregation as a soloist, choir director, tutor and Hebrew teacher, among other responsibilities.
"Now that she's gone, we have three different people doing the things she used to do," said Ralph Ellis, a former president of the synagogue board. "She was really our spiritual leader."
Mrs. Levine, 62, died Wednesday of pancreatic cancer at Hospice Atlanta. A graveside service was held Friday at Camp Memorial Park in Fayetteville. Shiva was held Saturday and Sunday at the Levine house in Riverdale. Dressler's Jewish Funeral Care handled arrangements.
By age 12, Mrs. Levine was a vocalist in the adult choir at Beth El Congregation in Akron, Ohio, her hometown. She learned Hebrew early and spoke Yiddish with her grandmother. She attended the University of Akron, where she was trained in the cantillation of Torah and Haftarah. She also started tutoring Bar/Bat Mitzvah students. And, she trained at Hebrew Union College -- Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati.
In 1980, she moved to the Atlanta area, a single mother with a son and a daughter. She was employed for 23 years as a media specialist and as an in-school suspension facilitator with the Clayton County school system. She married Raphael "Ray" Levine, her husband of 25 years, in 1986, the same year she volunteered as cantorial soloist at B'nai Israel. She became a paid cantorial soloist in 1998.
"You could say one word and my mom could find a song for it, whether it be liturgical or non-liturgical," said her daughter, Tara Hughes of Chatsworth. "She was the glue that kept everything together, and brought light and happiness to everybody."
Mrs. Levine was a "Jewish ambassador" to the non-Jewish and interfaith communities. She offered classes such as "Beginning Hebrew," "Judaism 101," and "All You Wanted To Know About Judaism But Were Afraid To Ask."
Said her daughter: "Her faith meant everything to her."
Additional survivors include her husband, Raphael "Ray" Levine of Riverdale; a son, Scott Isaac of Hampton; two sisters, Robin Ledridge of Locust Grove and Carol Montesinos of Riverdale; a brother, Tommy Israel of McDonough; and three grandchildren.
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