Sheldon Levy, passed away on May 12, 2024 at his home at the age of 98.
Shelly, as he was known to friends, and his beloved wife of 66 years, Virginia “Ginny” Levy reared five children in the Kansas City area.
Before school, Sheldon was known as “Buddy” to his family. When he started school, his mother informed him if they asked for “Sheldon”, that is you and you need to respond. He grew up in Chicago, attended IIT earning a BS in Electrical Engineering, a Master’s Degree in Mathematics and went on to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island to earn his PhD in Applied Mathematics/Physics. Shelly & Ginny moved to Kansas City when he took a position as Director of Mathematics & Physics at Midwest Research Institute. He began a food management company, TransTech, at the start of the computer age. After he sold his company, he finished his working career at Black & Veatch Engineering. During this time, he took his professional engineering exams and became a professional engineer.
An insatiable curiosity was a hallmark of Shelly. Learning was a way of life and he always took the opportunity to teach others on a myriad of subjects. He was truly a maker, craftsman, and inventor. He was always thinking and wondering how things work, how something could be made better. He loved adapting tools to the project at hand. Never bashful in asking questions, needless to say, he had numerous hobbies. He also enjoyed various opportunities at Linda Hall Library.
He and Ginny valued education greatly. Vacationing on an island in Minnesota, on the Canadian Border, and traveling the country in their trailer camper, they exposed their children to nature, landmarks, museums, and national parks.
In their retirement Shelly and Ginny moved to Lenexa and started taking extended trips in their motorhome seeing all the wonders of the USA.
In addition, retirement afforded him time to help build homes for Habitat for Humanity along with building projects in his workshop for the grandchildren and great grandchildren. He pursued his interest in model railroading, with active membership in the local Turkey Creek Division of the National Model Railroad Association. He was honored by the NMRA with their Master Model Railroader award in 2019, a notable achievement.
Shelly’s passion for family was obvious as he took a keen interest in all of his children’s endeavors. During his life, he was very generous with his time and resources to others.
He is survived by his sons, Peter and his spouse, Alice, Ken and his spouse Mina, and Brad. He is also survived by his daughters Mindy (Levy) Pendreigh and her spouse Graham, and Missy. Shelly is also survived by his grandson Eric and his spouse Heather and granddaughter Elise (Levy) Bueker and her husband Jason. His five great-grandchildren, Hadley, Grace, Olivia, Hayes and Reese were all dear to his heart and provided great joy. Shelly is also survived by his sister, Enid (Levy) Silverman and his brother Don Levy and his spouse, Sherry.
Sheldon was honored by family members at a private, graveside gathering.
A memorial gathering will be held for friends and family on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at the Tree Top Room in Lakeview Village’s Southridge Tower at 14001 W. 92nd St., Lenexa, KS 66215. We invite people to start gathering at 6:30 PM with memorial service to start at 6:45 PM. A light dessert will be served after the service.
Shelly asked that we encourage guests to make donations to the Lakeview Village Foundation (specify Good Samaritan Fund), Doctors Without Borders or their favorite charity, in lieu of sending flowers.
Obituary published by Louis Memorial Chapel.
