PHILADELPHIA - Penn Athletics is mourning the passing of Emeritus Trustee Robert P. Levy, C'52, a decorated Philadelphia sportsman who spent decades mentoring young people at Penn, and beyond, through athletics. We extend our deep condolences to his wife, Rochelle "Cissie" Feldman Levy, a former Overseer of the Institute of Contemporary Art and the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, and children, Robert, Michael, C'90, Wendy, Kathryn, GGS'09 and Angela, C'87, and grandchildren, Emma, William, Ryder, C'13, Peter, C'07, and Alexander, C'05, GAr'08, GFA'08.
 
Bob's dedicated service to Penn mirrored his deeply held personal interests in mentoring, sports, and family. He joined the Board of Trustees in 1971 and with his tremendous commitment to youth was a valuable member of the Student Life Committee. As a successful breeder and racer of thoroughbred horses, he also brought great insight to his role on the Board of Overseers of the School of Veterinary Medicine, where he helped advance sports medicine for racehorses such as his own Belmont Stakes-winner, Bet Twice. 
 
An undergraduate tennis standout and an inductee into Penn's Tennis and Athletics Halls of Fame, Bob was a longtime member of the Athletics Overseer Board and also volunteered as an assistant coach for the women's tennis team. He was also the founder of the Little Quakers, a local youth football team he created the year after earning his sociology degree in the College. Thanks to Bob's many talents, the team is still going strong today and always plays at least one game a season at Franklin Field.
 
At the School of Dental Medicine, where he was once chair of the Board of Overseers, Bob carried on the legacy of his father, devoted alumnus Leon Levy, D'15, H'73, a 1971 winner of the Alumni Award of Merit. In 2003, Bob followed in his father's footsteps by himself receiving the Alumni Award of Merit. Bob and his family generously made possible the Robert P. Levy Tennis Pavilion, the Dental School's Levy Research Building, now the Levy Center for Oral Health Research, the Paley Professorship for the Dean of the School of Design, and Blanche P. Levy Park in the center of campus, which has been enjoyed by generations of students, faculty, and alumni. 
 
Professionally, Bob was Chair of DRT Industries, a Philadelphia-based conglomerate with industrial holdings in the Delaware Valley. He was also extensively involved in thoroughbred racing, operating the Robert P. Levy Stable and serving as Chair of the Atlantic City Racing Association, a Director and Past President of the Thoroughbred Racing Association of North America, and a member of the Board of Directors of Penn National Gaming Inc.  
 
In addition to his commercial and racing activities, Bob was a committed Philadelphian, serving on the City's Fairmount Park Commission and the Philadelphia Art Commission. As Chair of the Philadelphia Sports Congress, he brought many high-profile sporting events to the city. Fittingly, the Philadelphia Sports Congress has since created the Robert P. Levy Community Service Award in his honor. On the national level, Bob was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, served on the President's Commission on Olympic Sports, and chaired the U.S. tennis teams at the World Maccabiah Games in the 1970s and '80s. Memorialized in the halls of fame of Pennsylvania Sports, the Police Athletic League, Philadelphia Sports, and Philadelphia Jewish Sports, Bob was a former Philadelphia Police Athletic League "Man of the Year" and the recipient of awards from the John B. Kelly Foundation, the National Football Foundation, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, the Montgomery County (Pennsylvania) Coaches Hall of Fame, and the Pop Warner Little Scholars for his remarkable service to youth sports.
 
A memorial service is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., Sunday, at Joseph Levine & Sons Memorial Chapel, 4737 Street Road, Trevose.