Michal Halevy

Michal (“Micki”) Halevy, 84, passed away on September 20, 2020.  Micki was the beloved wife of Uzi Halevy (Z’l) , and mother to Amir (and his wife Amy Karff Halevy), Ellie (and her husband Larry Kalman), and Tammy.  She was the devoted older sister to David Tartakover and to her sister-in-law, Ada Friedman (and her husband Yanai).  Micki was the extremely proud “Savta” (Grandmother) of Jacob Halevy (and his wife, Leah), Daniel Halevy, and Orli and Gabriel Kalman.Micki was born in Haifa, Israel in 1936 to Jacob and Alinka Tartakover.  After completing her service in the Israeli army (Nahal) on a kibbutz along with Uzi and other friends, Micki graduated from Hebrew University in Jerusalem where she received her law degree, graduating at the top of her law school class. After practicing law for several years in Israel, Micki and Uzi, and nearly three year old Amir, moved to Wichita, Kansas in 1964. They planned to be in the US for only two years, but ultimately built a life and legacy here. The move to Wichita was a difficult transition for Micki, but both Ellie and Tammy were born there and she and Uzi made dear friends for a lifetime and enjoyed the close knit Jewish community.Micki and Uzi moved to Houston, Texas in 1976 when Litwin moved its headquarters there. Once the kids were older, Micki returned to school for her master’s in social work at the University of Houston. Micki was deeply committed to Jewish communal life and education.  She worked as a family counselor at the Jewish Family Service (“JFS”) in Houston for many years. Later she served as a counselor at the Beren Academy.Micki and Uzi met in high school in Jerusalem and were married on Lag B’Omer in 1959. They shared a life filled with love, intellectual discourse, travel and music.  They had tremendous mutual respect, were always engaged in animated conversation, and often challenged each other on topics including history, music and Jewish law.Micki and Uzi loved exploring new places and they traveled all over the world, including every continent and every major country in the world. Micki and Uzi shared a passion for the symphony and opera. Micki continued to attend them regularly, even after Uzi died in 2015.One of Micki’s greatest joys in life was being a grandmother and she quickly became known to her family (and beyond) as Savta.  Her grandchildren loved being with her and particularly enjoyed Savta’s wonderful meals, which were often followed by Savta’s famous babka.  Micki was delighted to have been able to travel to Orli’s Bat Mitzvah in Seattle in 2019, and Jacob’s wedding to Leah in San Antonio this past February.Micki was blessed with many wonderful friendships and her friends were a source of great comfort and companionship.  As Micki’s sight failed, a number of her friends took turns coming to her home to read to her in Hebrew. In the last years of her life, Micki was assisted by a wonderful caregiver, Tami Pittman, who earned the love and appreciation of the entire Halevy family for her thoughtful care of Micki.A private funeral will take place on Wednesday, 23 September at Beth Yeshurun Post Oak Cemetery.  Rabbi Ranon Teller of Congregation Brith Shalom will officiate. The family requests that any donations in her memory be sent to The Jewish Family Service (https://www.jfshouston.org/), Congregation Brith Shalom (https://www.brithshalom.org/), or a different charity of your choice.There will be two zoom Shiva minyans: the first on Wednesday, 23 September at 7 pm central. The second on Thursday, 24 September at 1 pm central. Please contact memorialformicki@gmail.com for dial-in details.