After a courageous battle with head and neck cancer, Elizabeth Ann Levin passed away on the morning of March 10, 2025, leaving behind a lasting legacy.

“I admired her dedication … ,” Cathy Radomski, Levin’s sister, said. “She was a huge, huge influence.”

From a young age to the time of her passing, Levin was surrounded by music, developing a lifelong passion for it. Her passing has deeply affected the SHS community, but her contributions continue to have a meaningful impact on those who knew her.

Born in New York, Levin first arrived in Indianapolis to earn her master’s degree in violin performance at Butler University. After earning her degree, she taught at Butler briefly before moving to Las Vegas to explore performance opportunities.

Levin returned to Indianapolis in 1983 to cover Radomski’s maternity leave at Southport Middle. Within two years, she was hired as the orchestra director for both SHS and the middle school.

“She was this figure in the orchestra world here on the Southside,” Southport Middle orchestra teacher Shawn Hulfachor said, “because of her reputation for pushing kids to get better and holding them to a very high level of performance.”

While teaching at SHS, Levin served as the music department chair for 22 years. Her dedication to music education earned her the SHS and Perry Township Teacher of the Year award for the 2001-2002 school year. She was also honored with the Elizabeth A. Levin Podium, a podium in the SHS auditorium named after her.

After 31 years of teaching, Levin retired in 2015. In retirement, she continued to pursue her passion for music, teaching privately and mentoring students.

“Even though she retired from teaching here, she still wanted to teach people,” freshman Rylan Edwards, one of Levin’s last students, said. 

Four years after her retirement, Levin was diagnosed with head and neck cancer. Despite receiving treatment, the cancer had spread beyond its original location. 

Levin died in March of this year, ten years after retiring. 

“We knew that she was sick. I was able to visit her in some of her last days,” orchestra director Thomas Wright said. “I knew that the time of that was coming.”

After Wright received news of Levin’s passing, he shared it to his students, including some of Levin’s last pupils, who had been deeply influenced by her mentorship.

“I probably wouldn’t be going to college for music performance if it wasn’t for her,” senior Silas Denton, one of her last students, said. “She really just changed my career.”

Beyond her impact on students, Levin’s influence was very profound on her family. 

“She was my best friend,” Radomski said. “We taught together and did other things together.”

Throughout her life, Levin witnessed her students flourish, becoming testaments to her lasting influence. 

From the time Wright had met her in sixth grade until he became a teacher at SHS, Levin mentored him. 

Before coming to SHS, Wright was offered a part-time piano teaching position by Levin. When she retired as the SHS orchestra director, she recommended Wright as her successor. 

“I am a teacher because of her,” Wright said. “When I left high school, I wanted to be like Ms. Levin. I want to be a teacher that has that type of impact and relationship with students over a long period of time.”

At Southport Middle, Levin similarly inspired Hulfachor and Patrick Ciesielski, one of the other orchestra teachers at Southport Middle.   

Hulfachor originally planned to study music therapy but switched to music education with Levin’s guidance.  

“She definitely was a mentor,” Hulfachor said. 

Ciesielski’s path to teaching also began with Levin.

“She’s the whole reason I wanted to become a teacher … ,” Ciesielski said. “.She was one of the people that picked me for my current job at Southport Middle school.”

Three days after Levin’s death, the SHS orchestra performed a concert that included the hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” which was dedicated to Levin. 

“We were already planning to do that concert, but she passed before we were able to play that concert,” Wright said. “It was a natural fit … She was a woman of Christian faith. And it was a good fit that she understood now what this song really meant because at that time she was close to God.”

Levin’s lifelong passion for music touched countless lives. While her passing left profound sorrow in the community, her legacy endures through those she inspired.  

“If I’ve ever been successful at anything … it’s because I followed her advice,” Wright said.