Sanford N. Levey's Obituary
SANFORD (Sandy) N. LEVEY was born on his mother's birthday in 1929, in Brooklyn, NY. By the time he was nine he had lost both parents, and was lucky enough to have had an older sister who, with her husband raised him. He competed for a place, and was successful in gaining entrance to Brooklyn Technical High School, at which he gained a good basic knowledge of mathematics and the sciences. He graduated, and after a short stint at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute at night, he enlisted in the Navy. After recruit training, Airman training, he was attending the advanced school for Aerographers’ Mates (weathermen). It was while he was at this school that he received orders to report to the Naval Academy Preparatory School at Bainbridge, Maryland. The course completed in May, 1949, just before his entrance to the Naval Academy, and it was then that he met Miss Betty Eleanor Pickett of Sykesville, MD. Their romance lasted four long years, since in those days, midshipmen were somewhat restricted in their social life, and in 1953 they were married. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy, and entered the Submarine Service as soon thereafter as was possible.
He served on six submarines over a fourteen year period, two diesels, two nuclear attacks, and two Fleet Ballistic Missile submarines, commanding the latter two, before going to his first shore duty, where he was Director of Officer Training at the Naval Submarine School. During this time, they moved up and down the East Coast, living in Norfolk, Hampton, and Alexandria, Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina; Key West, Florida; New London, Connecticut; Saratoga Springs, New York; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1972, he was ordered to the Naval Base at Rota, Spain, where they spent three wondrous years, and he had a split tour as Squadron Training Officer, and Commanding Officer of the USS Simon Lake, a submarine tender. He was then ordered to Washington, DC, where, as a Captain he first encountered the bureaucracy at the Pentagon and its environs. As soon as he was eligible, he retired from the Navy in 1978, and worked for various submarine-area support contractors before forming his own business in 1986. This business, SMALL BUSINESS CONSULTANTS, INC. provided expert assistance to small businesses in the areas of consulting, accounting, and taxes. The company had about 90 corporate and 200 individual clients, and upon his most recent retirement, he sold it.
He was a founding director of the Naval Submarine League, and served as Chairman of the Membership Committee of that organization during its period of most rapid growth.
In 2003, he sold his business and he and Betty moved to the Magnolias at Leisure World, Virginia. He is survived by his wife Betty, and children Mary Smyth of San Diego, CA, and Robert Levey of Gaithersburg, MD, and grandchildren Sean and Derek.
Sanford ( Sandy) Levey, age 81 passed away on April 3, 2011 in Leesburg,VA.
During the Cold War he commanded two ballistic submarines and a submarine tender. Other assignments included Deputy Commander of a Submarine Squadron, and Director of Officer Training at the Naval Submarine School in New London Connecticut. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy with the Class of 1953, he served on a surface ship for a year before transferring to the Submarine Force. During the next seventeen years he served in various submarines starting with two WW II diesel submarines, then two Nuclear Attack boats, and finally commanded two missile submarines, the USS Nathan Hale, and the USS george Bancroft. He also commanded the large surface ship, USS Simon Lake. After two years in Washington at shore duty, which he detested, he retired. He then worked as a consultant to the Navy for five years, and during this time was intensely involved in creating the Naval Submarine League, of which he was a founding Director. In 1982, he started an accounting business, (Small Business Consultants, Inc.) which grew rapidly with a clientele of one hundred small businesses and two-hundred and fifty income tax clients. In 2003, he sold this business and moved to Leisure World of Virginia, where he continued being active, playing tennis, writing, and serving on committees.
He met his wife to be, Betty Pickett, of Sykesville, Maryland, when he was attending the Naval Academy Prep School, and they were married four years later. They have two children, Mary Smyth, of San Diego, California, and Robert, of Gaithersburg, Maryland. They thoroughly enjoyed their grandsons, Sean Anthony, and Derek Andrew.
During his travels to the many duty stations at which they lived. He and Betty became antiques collectors, and in 1980, she opened her first shop in McLean, and during the next twenty three years, she had shops in Burtonsville, Kensington, Clifton, Manassas, Falls Church, and Leesburg. They both enjoyed this business, and made annual trips to England to purchase new acquisitions. The store was shut in 2008, when the sales drop indicated a coming recession.
He was a founding director of the Naval Submarine League, and served as Chairman of the Membership Committee of that organization during its period of most rapid growth. He was also a member of the US Naval Institute, The Brooklyn Technical High School Alumni Association, the Naval Academy Alumni Association, and MENSA.
Services and interment are pending at Arlington National Cemetery.
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