The CAR sadly shares the news of the passing of Dr. Clifford Levi of Manitoba. Dr. Levi’s career in medicine spanned more than 40 years at the Manitoba Health Sciences Centre (MHSC), leading the section of ultrasound for 22 years and holding many academic titles along the way.
Dr. Levi lived with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia for 18 years and underwent several different treatment regimens before his passing. He is survived by his wife, Carol, and children, Jeremy and Kim. Outside of radiology, he was passionate about astronomy and was a member of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Dr. Edward Lyons warmly recalls knowing Dr. Levi “briefly for 44 years,” having worked closely together at the MHSC for decades.
“I actually hired him,” said Dr. Lyons. “I was section head at the time and desperate for good people. We worked well together so I hired him.”
Dr. Lyons said his friend and colleague’s expertise was in early and ectopic pregnancies, and he made an excellent teacher for technologists, residents, and any visiting specialists to the MHSC.
“One thing that struck me was how important his work was to him,” Dr. Lyons said. “He lived with CLL for 18 years and it never stopped him.”
“Cliff was one of the kindest and most caring colleagues I ever had,” said Dr. Noam Millo, a colleague of Dr. Levi’s in ultrasound for more than a decade.
“He came up with lots of the early gynecological and ultrasound imaging guidelines, so he was the person to go to with a tough case. He had a wall of journals and would say ‘just look in this journal with this date’ and more often than not, your answer would be there with some of his notes scribbled in beside.”
“I first met Cliff in my residency when I had the opportunity to do groundbreaking research with him and Dr. Lyons on ectopic pregnancy and endovaginal ultrasound,” remembered Dr. Sid Dashefsky. “He was not just my mentor or co-worker but also a friend. He was a world leader in the ultrasound community, publishing and presenting many peer-reviewed papers. Everywhere I travelled in the ultrasound world over the years people would always know of Winnipeg and ask to pass on regards to him.”
The CAR would like to express its condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Dr. Levi. He will be greatly missed.