Clifford Abbott Levitan

Clifford Abbott Levitan, 85, of Omaha, Nebraska, passed away on May 5th, 2023. Cliff was born on November 23, 1937, in Memphis, Tennessee to parents Harry and Sara Ann Levitan. After graduating high school in Springfield Illinois in 1955, he went to the University of Illinois to study industrial education where he graduated in 1959.

Upon graduating, Cliff joined the United States Army Reserves which sent him to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. After fulfilling his duties with the Army, he moved to Omaha where he met his bride-to-be, Barbara Garber, in 1961 and were married in 1963.

In the early 1960’s, Cliff started Oak Cliff Homes, a residential development firm, in which he built many homes including his own house where he and his family lived for almost 50 years. Years later, Cliff transitioned to Dial Companies before starting what would be his ultimate passion in life, CL Enterprises, a construction management firm, in 1971. He acted as an owner’s representative on projects such as the Lauritzen Gardens, the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, the Kaneko campus, and the Lied Conference Center on behalf of the National Arbor Day Foundation.

Cliff strenuously advocated for vocational education programming in Omaha, helping to push this cause to the forefront in 2018. He recognized a need for young men and women to have a clear path to a career for those that may not have desired or have been able to afford a traditional college education.

Cliff finally retired in 2020, but prior to that, he loved spending time with his four grandkids, joining in on a weekly breakfast group full of friends and businesspeople, rooting on his Chicago Bears and the Nebraska Cornhuskers, as well as exercising. You could count on finding Cliff often holding court in the fitness room at the Omaha Jewish Community Center where he was known as the “mayor.”

Cliff is preceded in death by his parents, Sara Ann and Harry Levitan. He is survived by his devoted wife of almost sixty years, Barbara Levitan, his daughters, Debbie (Scott Sher) and Jennifer Cornelius (Pierre) and son Michael, his brother Howard Levitan (Kazuyo) and his four grandchildren, Zachary Block, Jacob Block (Katie), Dylan Levitan and Ava Levitan.

Cliff’s family would like to extend a special thanks to Dawnielle of AsceraCare as well as Colin Heskin and the entire staff at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, for all their help caring for him in his time of need.

A Memorial Service will be held at Temple Israel, 13111 Sterling Ridge Drive on Monday, May 15th at 11 am. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Parkinson’s Nebraska or Jewish Family Services.

Bear Down Dad. Bear Down.