By Melanie Ross Levin, Life and Legacy Manager at Jewish Federation of Delaware
—
When Richard Levine arrived in Delaware in 1971 to join the law firm Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, he knew no one in the state.
The first person who made him feel that he belonged in Delaware’s Jewish community was Sheldon Weinstein, a partner at the firm.
“He was the one who really got me involved,” Richard recalls. At the time, Young Conaway was a small firm with a significant number of Jewish attorneys, several of whom were active in the community. Through those early relationships, Richard began to find his place in Jewish Delaware.
His involvement deepened when he joined Congregation Beth Shalom. He began as assistant treasurer, then served as treasurer, vice president and, ultimately, president. What began as an opportunity to become connected soon became a lifetime of leadership and service.
Richard also credits two longtime community leaders, Bernie Siegel and Bennett Epstein, with inspiring him to become more deeply involved. After Richard participated in a Jewish Federation mission to Israel in the early 1980s, Bernie and Bennett encouraged him to take on a greater role in the community. Richard later became part of Delaware’s first Jewish Young Leadership cohort.
Neither man needed to make grand speeches about Jewish responsibility. Their example said everything.
“They both had the same charming way of calmly discussing what was important in the Jewish community,” Richard says. “They were quietly generous and supportive of everything that was Jewish. It was just natural to them that everything Jewish was wonderful.”
That spirit of service became natural to Richard as well. Over the following decades, he served in leadership roles throughout Jewish Delaware. He joined the Jewish Federation of Delaware Board of Directors, co-chaired Federation annual and special fundraising efforts, and became a vice president. He later served as President of the Federation and as its first Board Chair.
At the Siegel JCC, Richard helped lead a major capital campaign and was a founding co-chair of the JCC Sports Classic. He has also served as Chair of the Jewish Fund for the Future, remained a longtime member of its Investment Committee, and recently returned to serve as a second term as Chair of the Fund.
Of all his contributions, two stand out as especially enduring.
The first is—in his role as an attorney and community leader—in helping Federation acquire additional property from the Woodlawn Trustees in 1985 for the expansion of the JCC campus. The acquisition added significant land to the campus and created opportunities for the community to grow.
Richard fondly remembers receiving an award from the JCC a year later recognizing his work on the project. Standing outside in the newly built pavilion on the newly acquired campus, surrounded by members of the community, he felt something shift.
“That was when I knew I had become part of the community,” he says
“Having been a Federation leader myself, it’s important to pass those opportunities on to the next generation. I also want the organizations that have meant so much to me to continue making a difference long after I’m gone”
The second accomplishment that brings him particular pride was helping lead Delaware’s Create a Jewish Legacy initiative.
Richard became involved after Robin Saran called and asked him to co-chair the program. As he learned more about legacy through the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, he realized that leadership required personal action.
“As chairman of the program, of course I had to set up my own legacy,” Richard says. “It was a matter of understanding it and setting an example.”
“The Jewish community has been the basis of many of my friendships,” he says. “Serving the Jewish community has been the focus of my longtime philanthropy and energy.”
“I hope they will become happy members of the Jewish community,” he says. “The community must continue to create a caring and secure home for its Jewish people.”
He also emphasizes that legacy giving is not only for the extraordinarily wealthy. A gift can be structured in many ways and at many levels. Every dollar donated helps the community and the donor. What matters is thinking intentionally about the organizations that have shaped one’s life.
“Think about what you are giving to and see whether you can set aside a little for the community,” Richard says. “A legacy gift does not have to change how you live today, but it can make a lasting difference.”
For Richard, making a legacy commitment was not primarily about recognition. It was about ensuring that the institutions that had supported him would be there for those who came next.
Richard’s basement is filled with plaques, awards and keepsakes collected over decades of service. Yet when asked how he hopes to be remembered, he does not focus on the titles he held or the honors he received.
“I hope I inspired others,” he says.
That may be Richard Levine’s most enduring legacy: not simply the institutions he helped strengthen or the land he helped secure, but the example he set for those who will continue building Jewish Delaware long after him.
