Nancy Levin became a family lawyer to help others going through dark times.

The Baltimore resident was no stranger to them herself. Whether she was helping a domestic violence survivor or someone navigating a difficult divorce, she knew she could be the comforting, empathetic advocate people needed in their toughest moments.

She’d overcome childhood polio and grieved the loss of her teenage daughter killed in a violent crime. She was among just a few women to graduate from her law school and had been through her own trying divorce.

Later in life, she would fall down stairs and suffer a traumatic brain injury. She worked through the deaths of her husband and sister within months of one another. She beat cancer.

Through it all, she never asked “why me?” She didn’t feel sorry for herself or grow angry at the universe. She was as resilient as they come, maintaining an optimistic worldview and taking care of those around her, loved ones said.

“In a world where things aren’t always very kind, she greeted adversity with kindness and a very good spirit,” family friend Sheila Wells said.

Her exit from this world was as gentle as she was in life. Levin died in her sleep Aug. 13 after a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was 85.

Levin was born May 1, 1940, in suburban Detroit, the youngest child of Willett and Ruth McCortney. Her sister and brother, Margaret and Bill, were much older, but they all seemed to share something of a psychic link, family said. She and Margaret would sometimes show up to events in matching outfits without coordinating.

Nancy Levin contracted polio around age 4, said her son, Pete Levin. While other kids were learning to ride a bike, she was relearning to walk and talk. The illness affected her balance throughout her life, and she found it difficult to stay active. But she tried anyway — tennis, swimming, cross-country skiing.

Childhood vacations to Sanibel Island in Florida were a “happy place” she’d cherish all her life. Instead of jumping in the water, she roamed the beach, collecting seashells. She became a bit of an expert and learned the scientific names of shells she found.

Nancy Levin also developed an early love of writing, which prompted her to pursue a double major in English and art history at the University of Michigan. While there, she met her first husband, John Love, and the couple moved to Baltimore. She became a teacher and social worker, and she started working toward a master’s degree at the Johns Hopkins University.

Somewhere along the way, law school seemed a better fit. Her husband dared her to apply. In 1968, she was among just a few women to graduate from the University of Maryland law school.

After graduating, she started working at Maryland Legal Aid, where she met Peter Levin, a fellow lawyer. Her marriage had been rocky, so she got a divorce.

After initially disliking Peter, she fell head over heels and married him at a Frederick courthouse, their son said. The only photo they have from that day is one of Nancy in her yellow dress, unknowingly standing in front of a sign that said “half price.”

Their union was a meeting of minds, said Adah Levin, a sister-in-law. They became “intellectual partners.”

“Until she started talking and you had spent time with her, you would never know how bright she was,” Adah Levin said. “She was just so understated.”

The couple had three children together — Trudy, Ilse and Pete — and moved to a home in the Belvedere area. Life seemed magical, Pete Levin said. The family often went camping, and the holiday season was extra special. His father came from a Jewish background, while his mother was Christian, so they celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah.

Nancy Levin also loved to cook. Her spaghetti sauce, with a splash of V8, was a favorite on birthdays. Throughout her life, she amassed a huge collection of cookbooks, which she’d read before bed.

Life changed drastically when 15-year-old Trudy was murdered in 1986. She was out with a friend when a man offered them drugs and to take them to a party. Her friend left, and Trudy never came home. Her body was found days later by railroad tracks, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Nancy Levin was already grieving the death of her father, and losing a child — especially in such a violent manner — was devastating. But she powered through for her other children.

She and her husband had a family law practice, helping clients escape dangerous situations and guiding families through custody battles. She found joy where she could, in seashells and baseball games.

As Ilse and Pete grew older, Nancy Levin showed unwavering support, her children said. She proudly watched Ilse become a physician and Pete a filmmaker — and, later, start their own families. She had four grandchildren.

“She inspired me, taught me that love of your family is constant and unquestioning,” Ilse Levin said. “She gave me and my brother wings, meaning she encouraged us to find our dreams and our lives and never held us back.”

After the children moved out, Nancy and Peter Levin traveled the globe. While in Thailand in 2006, Nancy Levin fell down hotel steps. The incident put her in a coma for a month and caused brain damage.

“With 90% of other people, that would have been the end of the story,” Pete Levin said. “My mom was such a survivor she found a way to push through that as well.”

Pete Levin saw his mother falter only once — in 2010, after her husband and sister died months apart. She withdrew for some time but found her way back to herself. She took college courses for retired seniors, got back into cooking and even dated some.

She was later diagnosed with breast cancer, which she overcame, and Parkinson’s disease, which slowly took away her mobility and voice. She eventually moved into a full-time care facility.

While there, she started hallucinating conversations with her husband, sister and parents, but not with her daughter Trudy. And then, in one of her final days, she asked Trudy to retrieve something from the basement.

Her son gets chills just thinking about it.

“My mom was finally back to a place where all of them could just enjoy each other’s company, a pre-1986 world,” Pete Levin said.

She died days later, only after telling her two surviving children, in a soft voice, that she loved them.

The Banner publishes news stories about people who have recently died in Maryland. If your loved one has passed and you would like to inquire about an obituary, please contact obituary@thebaltimorebanner.com. If you are interested in placing a paid death notice, please contact groupsales@thebaltimorebanner.com or visit this website.