Longtime Oceanside resident Leonard “Lenny” Levine has chalked up many different accomplishments — from Korean War veteran to music teacher — and at age 90, he’s still proudly serving his community.
Levine, who has lived in Oceanside for 55 years, served the country in the Army during the Korean War from 1953 to 1955.
“It was really a war,” Levine said. “We lost 54,000 men.”
After returning to his hometown of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, in 1955, Levine hung up his military gear and enrolled at the Juilliard School, the prestigious performing arts conservatory in New York City.
Following years of pursuing a career playing the clarinet, he switched his major to delve into teaching, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1960.
“Unfortunately, my instrument was clarinet, and in every major orchestra, the most you’re going to have is three clarinets,” he said.
He continued his education just blocks away, at Columbia University, where he earned a master’s in 1961. He later taught music in several school districts across New York City and Long Island, including Oceanside.
“I took a lot of courses during the next four or five years, and I’m only six points away from a doctorate,” he added.
A chaplain for the Oceanside Jewish War Veterans post for the past 25 years, Levine is one of its longest-serving members.
“Unfortunately, through the years, we’ve lost many, many, many people, but I’m still a chaplain there,” he said.
He also served on the Oceanside Interfaith Council, representing the Jewish War Veterans.
“All the faiths are involved, all faiths represented,” he said, “and we would sit around and discuss what we can do to help people, organize charity events like (around) Thanksgiving, giving out turkeys and maybe having a dinner.”
Though he officially retired from teaching in 1996, Levine remains active with the veterans, and on Sept. 27, the Oceanside High School Patriots Club honored him during halftime of the Oceanside Sailors’ football game.
“It must have been a couple of thousand kids screaming, ranting and carrying on,” he said. “When they read my biography, you could hear a pin drop. The quiet was so intense, it was unnerving, and I can’t commend them enough.”
Levine grew up just a block from his future wife, Sandy, in Brooklyn. After marrying in 1961, they moved one block further down — and eight years later, in 1969, they decided to “temporarily” relocate to Oceanside.
“My wife wanted a main road, not Long Beach Road, which had too many garages and so forth,” he said. “She wanted a beautiful road, so we were only going to stay for a short time. Well, 55 years later, we’re still here. What can I say? And we love every minute of it.”
Levine and his wife have now been married for 65 years. They’ve raised two children, Elliot, who married Lori, and Howard, who married Michelle. They have five grandchildren: Bradley, Adam, Jenna, Haden and Jamie.
“I’m very, very happy to be around my five grandchildren that I used to pick up and take to school, bring home and be with them all the time,” he said. “That in itself was a blessing.”
Levine is currently organizing a Veterans Day event, scheduled for Nov. 9 at the Barry & Florence Friedberg JCC in Oceanside, and is inviting the community to attend. He’s also in the early stages of planning the 2026 Memorial Day Parade.
“I spend about two months on that, organizing it and doing different things, but it really goes off beautifully, not only the parade, but we then have something on the podium that lasts about 40 minutes, and it’s very impressive,” he said.
Reflecting on his long life, Levine said, “I took Social Security early because I never thought I’d make it to 65. Well, thank God, here I am. So I’m very honored.”
