Irving E. Levy

Irving E. Levy, age 95, retired President of Phillips Distributing Corporation, died on Sunday, April 17, 2011, after sustaining injuries in an accidental fall.

A longtime Madison resident, he was born to Philip and Rebecca (Epstein) Levy on September 6, 1915, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Irving attended the University of Minnesota and Princeton. He was united in marriage to Dorothy Barvin on May 14, 1941.

During World War Two, he served in the South Pacific as a Captain in the U. S. Army. Returning to Wisconsin after the War, he became an executive officer of Ed. Phillips & Sons Co. in La Crosse, Wisconsin. In 1961, he moved his family to Madison after purchasing Phillips Distributing Corporation. The firm operated the Phillips Home Specialty stores in the Madison area for many years. Phillips Distributing Corporation has distributed liquor and wine in southern and western Wisconsin since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933.

He was a loving husband and father, who enjoyed supporting his family and encouraging his sons to live accomplished lives. He helped found and was President of the Jewish Synagogue in La Crosse. In Madison, he was a director of the Madison Jewish Community Council and Temple Beth El. He was also chairman of the Methodist Retirement Center Board, now Capital Lakes, where he lived and served on the residents' foundation board. He and his beloved wife, Dorothy, also enjoyed golfing together at their winter home in Rancho Mirage, California.

The charitable activities of the Irving and Dorothy Levy Family Foundation held a very special place in his heart. In 2010, the Levy family along with the Foundation was honored with the Tocqueville Society Award by United Way of Dane County.

He established a named scholarship fund within the Downtown Madison Rotary that currently helps support four Madison area students throughout their undergraduate careers. He also provided significant fund support to Beth Israel Center, UW Hillel Student Center, Madison Chabad House, Jewish Social Services and the Madison Jewish Community Council. He also gave support to the Meriter Foundation and the American Family Children's Hospital. He was a Benefactor of the Mayo Clinic.

He is survived by his three sons, Phillip, Marvin and Jeffrey. He was preceded in death by his wife of sixty-one years, Dorothy, and an infant son, Marc.

The family wishes to thank the entire staff of the Meriter Hospital ICU for the care they gave Irving on the last day of his life.

Visitation will begin at 3:30 pm, with the funeral service at 4:00 pm, on Thursday, April 21, at the Cress Funeral Home, 3610 Speedway Road, Madison. Burial will be in Forest Hill Cemetery. A celebration of Irving's life will be held at Nakoma Golf Club, 4145 Country Club Road, Madison, from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. Memorials may be made to the United Way of Dane County Foundation, or the Levy Family Scholarship Fund of the Downtown Madison Rotary.