In Memory of
Leo Barton Levitt November 4, 1931 - January 12, 2016,
Age: 84, Resided in Northridge, CA
In Memory of
Leo Barton Levitt November 4, 1931 - January 12, 2016,
Age: 84, Resided in Northridge, CA
Leo Barton Levitt of
Northridge, California, passed away Tuesday, January 12, 2016 (2 Shevat 5776),
at 84. Services will be held Sunday, January 17, 2016, at 11 am, in the Groman
Eden Chapel of Groman Eden Mortuary. Services will be officiated by Celebrant
Deborah CarrNahmias, and will conclude graveside, in Eden Memorial Park. Flowers
are being accepted, and donations in Leo's memory to the charity of your choice
are also welcome.
Leo is preceded in passing by his beloved wife of 44 years, Sara Levitt, Of
Blessed Memory; and is survived by his daughters, Lauri N. (Kevin) Pityinger and
Judy R. (Ross) Yates; and his grandchildren, Adam and Jamie Pityinger, and
Joshua and Alana Yates.
Leo was a nuclear physicist, a high end stereo aficionado, and a world class
checkers player. He is named in the Checkers Hall of Fame.
He will be deeply missed.
Arrangements under the direction of Groman Eden Mortuary, Mission Hills, CA. | Groman
Eden Mortuary - Leo Levitt | Obituary listed by
Legancy.com and Dignitymemorial.com
Leo was a Life-Time member of ACF, and an active tournament player until the
early 1990's. Leo was a regular at "King's Room" on the internet in MSN Gaming Zone. I recall Kris Gordon from Morrow, GA saying,
"Leo was his internet mentor in the mid & late 90's, and he help me tremendously in becoming a master level checker player."
Also I read in "The WCC Story" that Gil Dodgen gave credit to two top Masters living in Southern California, Ed Markusic and Leo Levitt as key checker
mentors, who helped him refine the “Checkers 1.0” program's evaluation function. Dodgen later released Cornell Checkers in 1993 which later becoming WCC-Gold+ and WCC-Platinum III in 2003.
Leo Levitt was a member of all the current International Tournament Teams, his last one was the 8th International Match between U.S. and Great Britain & Ireland (100th anniversary) at Las Vegas Plaza Hotel on September 26th - 30th, 2005.
In the late 80's and early 90's Levitt was considered one of the top 5 Masters in the US.