Norfolk – Longtime Norfolk resident, Jordan S. Levitin, better known as “Buddy,” 92, passed away on April 10, 2026.
He is survived by his wife, Carol, 88, and children Michael (Caryn), Samuel (Susan), son-in-law Bob Mastorakis, and grandchildren Brenna, Daniel, and Jonathan. He was the son of William and Goldye Levitin and was predeceased by his brother, Charles, and daughter, Amy.
At an early age, he was nicknamed “Buddy” which stayed with him the rest of his life.
He was very close to Charles, who taught him to play baseball and golf in the 1940’s. Buddy was elected captain of the Maury High School golf team, when the new sport was introduced to local high schools. According to Buddy, Granby High golfers were unbeatable because they played the nearby course every day after school.
Buddy was a 1952 graduate from Maury and graduated in 1956 from Duke University with Phi Beta Kappa honors. He met Carol Ann Hyman from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, at Duke, and they were married in June 1959 after Buddy returned from military duty in Korea. Following the death of his father, he and his brother took over the family furniture business.
Buddy led a life of service to others. On alternate Monday mornings for 12 years, he and a co-reader were the “Voice of Hampton Roads” on WHRO, reading The Virginian-Pilot to blind listeners.
He was past president of the Norfolk Host Lions Club, Melvin Jones Fellow of Lions International, and recipient of the Lions International President’s Award. He was a former member of the board of directors of the Lions Medical Eye Bank of Eastern Virginia and a lifetime member of Congregation Beth El.
He served as Master of Norfolk Lodge #1, Ancient, Free, and Accepted Masons, the oldest Masonic Lodge in the Commonwealth. He was president of the Grand Lodge of Virginia Scholarship Foundation.
In 1984, Buddy was called upon by Thomas L. Oliver, Norfolk native living in California and chief engineer for AT&T West Coast to establish the TOWN Foundation, named for members of his family and the family of his late wife. Graduating high school students would have the opportunity to avoid the financial difficulties he experienced putting himself through Virginia Tech in the 1920’s.
From 1998 through 2008, Buddy served on the Norfolk State University Foundation board of directors and revised the board’s scholarship program. He was the first president of the TOWN Foundation and served 30 years as president, secretary, and executive vice president until retiring in 2017 as vice president emeritus.
In 2009, Buddy and Carol established the Levitin Family Endowment at Norfolk State University, and in 2015, the Jordan and Carol Levitin Endowed Scholarship in Nursing at Old Dominion University.
Buddy became an avid walker in 1975 and subsequently was attracted to the sport of competitive race walking. He became a member of the United States Track and Field Association and was a certified USATF Mater Level official. In 2019, at the Virginia 24 Hour Ultra Walk/Run for cancer in Hampton, he set a state record in men’s 85-89 age group.
As a competitor or judge, Buddy was always quick to remind friends “when you see a turtle sitting on a fence post, you know it didn’t get there by itself.”
The family requests contributions in Buddy’s memory to the scholarships listed above or a charity of the donor’s choice.
A funeral service was held at H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Norfolk Chapel, officiated by Rabbi Jacob Herber. Interment followed at Forest Lawn Cemetery.