Martin (Marty) Levy
Martin (Marty) Levy, of Cambria, Calif., died June 14, 2009. He was 75.
Marty was born in New York City on April 12, 1934, to Joseph and Betty Levy, immigrants who came to America seeking a better life. Marty and his sister were raised with a strong work ethic and helped with the family business in the Bronx. Marty formed lifelong bonds with his New York neighbors and schoolmates, mostly first-generation Americans.
He graduated from Dewitt Clinton High School. He was a natural athlete and came to be known as "the Duke" of the schoolyard as he shed his wool overcoat and played pick-up basketball in leather loafers.
He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was honorably discharged in 1958. He then married Brenda Grandon, with whom he had three children. Together with his father and sister, he opened a bowling center. In the '60s, business was booming as Americans enjoyed bowling as a social pastime.
With this new prosperity, he bought his first home, a colonial in Westchester County, New York. Shortly thereafter, he bought a rustic cabin in the Catskill Mountains and started to ski. Most winter weekends were spent with his family on the slopes enjoying all of the thrills that only skiing could bring.
After attending a conference in California, he purchased a bowling alley in Palm Springs, Calif., in 1978. Together with his family, Marty set out to conquer the West. He expanded the business to include a state-of-the-art racquetball and fitness center, which soon began to struggle.
In 1983, Marty visited his daughter Jan in Steamboat Springs, where he relocated the following year. During the next 15 years, he reinvented himself. He skied on powder days and operated the Inferno at night. It was the place to go aprÃs ski; with a roulette wheel that determined the price of shots and a basketball scoreboard whose buzzer signaled the end of each round! Together with Jan and Gary Lash, he created a legendary bar in Steamboat. He built a new life in Colorado, marrying Jill Clow, building a log home and succeeding once again in business.
Throughout his life, Marty loved to travel. He went as far as Israel, Australia, Thailand and China. He soaked up the sun on the beaches of Greece and Jamaica. Then, in his later years, he celebrated his birthdays with family and friends in Hawaii and Tuscany.
Although his health failed him many times, he had the fortitude to recover. He survived the amputation of both legs, and learned to walk, drive and enjoy life to its fullest again. He had an inner strength that saw him through adverse circumstances. On June 8, 2009, a massive stroke, along with a heart attack, assaulted his compromised body. His will to survive kept him alive for almost a week, but on the night of June 14, 2009, he passed away.
Whenever anyone asked, he always said he "had a good run." He did live his life to the fullest. He will always be remembered as a savvy entrepreneur who had his own style and as a loyal friend who was always there for those he cared about.
Marty is survived by his three children: David Levy and his wife, Suzanne, of Eastchester, N.Y.; Jan Levy, of Steamboat; Karen Riggio and her husband, Dominick, of Steamboat; his three grandchildren: Marisa, Sophia and Joseph Levy, of Eastchester, N.Y.; nephew Kenneth Bloom, of Shanghai, China; niece Randy Bloom, of New York City; nephew Allan Bloom, of Coral Springs, Fla.; and sister Ruth Gage, of Boynton Beach, Fla. He leaves behind many dear friends and family members as he reunites with his parents and past friends forevermore.
A memorial service is at 3 p.m. today at Staxx Restaurant at Haymaker Golf Course.
