Zion Levy, 72: Beloved grandfather adopted 2nd career as bus driver
Murdered by Hamas terrorists at the Mivtahim Junction in southern Israel on October 7
Zion Levy, 72, from Moshav Dekel, was murdered by Hamas terrorists near the Mivtahim Junction in southern Israel on October 7.
With the start of the attack, Zion, who worked in agriculture for years, set out from his home Saturday morning to go collect two Thai workers who had been working in his son’s garden. His wife urged him to seek shelter, but after dropping them off he continued on his way home. As he passed the Mivtahim Junction, Zion was shot dead in his car by Hamas terrorists lying in wait.
After days of searching, his family received word that his body had been identified.
He was buried on October 15 in Afula. He is survived by his wife, Tziona, his four children, Yaniv, Ziv, Shira and Hadas, and a number of grandchildren.
Born in Yavne’el, Zion was raised in Afula by parents who had immigrated from Yemen. Already in school, he studied agriculture, and he then studied in the Techni high school to prepare him to enlist in the Air Force. During his mandatory service, he served as an aircraft mechanic, including during the Yom Kippur War.
After marrying in 1976, he and Tziona settled in Yamit, a settlement in the Sinai Desert where he continued as a career Air Force commander at the Eitam Air Base. In 1982, when Yamit was evacuated and the Sinai was handed back to Egypt, Zion and Tziona were among the founders of Dekel, a small community along the Israeli-Egyptian border, where they remained for more than 40 years.
In Dekel, Zion worked for decades in agriculture, growing flowers and vegetables. With his retirement from the fields six years ago, he took up a new career — as a bus driver who loved shuttling passengers around the area.
His daughter Shira shared on Facebook the eulogy she read at her father’s funeral, about a man to whom “everything was possible, everything was allowed. Showing up in your underwear to Pnina’s wedding is OK, learning how to drive as soon as your leg reaches the clutch pedal is possible, and coming home with a stray cat or dog is wonderful.”
“Dad, you were an eternal child, you were like a brother and a friend to us,” she added. “You were the best teacher and guidance counselor we ever had. The personal example you set for us of loving others, supporting others, generosity and helping others, modesty and integrity shaped our character. You taught us to take responsibility for our actions, you always believed in us and supported us, encouraged us to dream and to act.”
Her father, wrote Shira, was “a man of people, always surrounded by family and friends. Stayed in touch, always up to date, at the center of things. You succeeded in being loved by all, from young children to the elderly. You looked everyone in the eye and had trust and respect for everyone. If you heard about anyone having trouble, anyone needing help, you would show up immediately, without questions, and help them with no compensation. You had an enormous heart, you gave all of yourself to others.”
Zion’s peak achievement, however, she said, was becoming a grandfather: “How you were so looking forward to this moment! Your grandchildren were everything to you. When you were with them, the world stopped on its axis. You never rushed anywhere, you played, fed, changed diapers, bathed and read stories,” Shira wrote. “You just wanted more and more of them — all day. All with a pure love, true pleasure, endless patience and huge pride.”
