Late in the evening of April 1, 2003, Robert M. Levine, Gabelli Senior Scholar in the Arts and Sciences, Director of Latin American Studies, and professor of history at the University of Miami, died after a determined and ever-optimistic fight against cancer. He was 62. Family and longtime friends were with him at the end, including his beloved companion Karen Orlin. He leaves behind his sons, Joey and David, his parents, David and Ruth Levine, his sister, Janice Hirshon, and his brother, Michael Levine. His untimely death brought expressions of grief, condolence, and remembrance from friends, colleagues, and students throughout the Americas and Europe. He leaves an enormous and important legacy of books, articles, scholarly research aides, videos, photographs, oral interviews, and his proudest accomplishment, dozens of productive scholars and teachers who carry on his abiding interest in all things Latin American.
As a teenager growing up on Long Island,...