Carol F. Levison, who had an eye for domestic beauty, died peacefully at home in Cedar Grove, N.J. on Dec. 31, 2024. The cause, confirmed by her husband, Fred, was pancreatic cancer, with which she’d been diagnosed three weeks earlier. She was 87.
The daughter of Abe and Lily (Dolinsky) Furgatch, Carol was born on June 26, 1937 in the South Bronx, where she grew up. She was proud of her “Bronx elbows.” She attended Morris High School, graduating in three years.
At Hunter College she met Frederic Levison, a student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. After graduating, she taught fifth grade in New Rochelle, N.Y. for two years before marrying Fred in 1960.
Fred was drafted in 1965 and shipped to Italy, where he worked as an obstetrician-gynecologist. Carol and their children joined him there, spending two years in Livorno and developing a deep attachment to the country.
After Fred’s discharge, the family settled in Pittsfield, where Fred practiced medicine until 1999. Carol earned an M.S.W. from North Adams State College and went into private practice specializing in family therapy, alcohol addiction therapy, and eventually sex therapy.
Carol’s practice was especially important for employees of General Electric when the company closed its Pittsfield plant in the 1980s. As an ardent feminist — “Gloria Steinem was her role model,” Fred said — she took a special interest in women and girls who were victims of sexual abuse.
In 1975, Carol and Fred bought a cottage at 40 Cranberry Lane in Eastham. After they retired, it became their home from May to October.
Carol was the founder of Once Upon a Table, a domestic interiors business specializing in European and midcentury American design. She and Fred made annual trips to the English and Italian countrysides, where Carol kept an eye out for design ideas.
Her English gardens in Pittsfield, with crabapple trees, formal hedges, and an overflowing vegetable garden, were matched only by her Eastham dune landscaping with tall grasses, Russian sage, and lavender, flecked with beach plum, lilies from Pittsfield, and glorious hibiscuses that bloomed year after year.
She had many other passions: she loved needlework and reading and led book groups throughout her life. Carol was a gifted cook, known for her soups, rice pilafs, creative holiday hors d’oeuvres, and mussels. She was a devotee of the 5 p.m. cocktail — often a Cin Cin — and always ended the evening with ice cream.
Carol is survived by her husband, Dr. Fredric E. Levison of Cedar Grove, N.J.; son Steven Levison and wife Terri Wood of Cedar Grove; daughters Joanna Levison and husband Kenan Aliyev of Prague, Czech Republic and Beth Levison and husband Henry Sidel of New York City; and grandchildren Zachary and Lily Aliyev and Benjamin and Gabriel Sidel.
She was predeceased by her brother, Lester Furgatch.
A celebration of her life is planned for June 28, 2025 at 40 Cranberry Lane, Eastham. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
