Sophie D. Levinson died Nov. 15, 2001, after a long struggle with ovarian cancer.

She was a couple of months away from her 76th birthday. Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., Sophie moved to Newport News, with her parents, Leon and Tillie Diamondstein, in 1942. She attended Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., and went to Virginia Tech in 1944, for one year.

Sophie married her husband, Julian Leonard Levinson, a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps, in 1945. After the war, she and her husband built a successful insurance, real estate and finance business known locally as Levinson Real Estate and Insurance Premium Finance Company. Later, at the age of 45, Sophie returned to study psychology at Christopher Newport College of William and Mary, where she graduated cum laude in 1975, at the age of 49.

After her husband died in 1991, Sophie met Len Klein and had been living in Boynton Beach, Fla. Sophie and Len spent many happy days together and traveled the world.

She was an extremely warm and benevolent person and brought happiness to the many lives that she touched.

She was intelligent, funny and courageous. She loved to travel, crossword puzzles and spending time with her children and grandchildren. In addition to her three daughters, Ilene of Israel, Caren of Alaska and Julie of New Jersey, Sophie is survived by her son, Mark, of Los Angeles; eight grandchildren, Beth, Amy, Michael, Laura, Emily, Lauren, Max and Kendall; and one great-granddaughter, Rebecca. A graveside service will be conducted 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 18, in Hebrew Cemetery, Hampton.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Registry, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Elm and Carlton Streets, Buffalo, NY 14263. Peninsula Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

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