In Memoriam: Memorial Service April 19 for Yale Psychiatrist Ira Levine

Published: April 8, 2003

New Haven, Conn. — A memorial service will be held April 19 for Ira Richard Levine, M.D., an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and an attending psychiatrist on the Dual Diagnosis Unit of Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital.

Levine, of Woodbridge, died on January 31 after a brief illness.

Levine had been associated with the Yale Department of Psychiatry since 1965, when he joined the department as a resident. He subsequently became an assistant professor and held various positions of leadership and prominence, both in the psychiatric service at the Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) and at the former Yale Psychiatric Institute (YPI).

At the VAMC, he was chief of the Day Hospital, chief of the Mental Hygiene Clinic, and director of Ambulatory Services. At the former YPI, he was clinical director and deputy director. He was prominent in the Department of Psychiatry as an educator specializing in mentoring trainees in the care of people with severe mental illness.

He was born June 30, 1937, in Lynn, Mass. He received his AB degree from Brandeis in 1958, cum laude, with highest honors in psychology. He graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine in 1962 with highest distinction in psychiatry. He served in the U.S. Army from 1963 to 1965, working in Germany at the United States Army Hospital in Nuremberg.

Levine was described as an articulate, brilliant man, noted for his eloquence and broad range of knowledge, his wonderful sense of humor and his ability to be interested in many facets of life, including good jazz. He was deeply religious. He is survived by his brother, Mark, and two sons, David and Eli.

The memorial service will be held in Harkness Auditorium at Sterling Hall of Medicine, 333 Cedar St., at 1:30 p.m. The service will be followed by a reception with light refreshments in the Harkness lounge and patio, 367 Cedar St.

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