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Former Court Administrator Jack C. LeVan Dies
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Jack LeVan, a popular and affable figure who served as a longtime court administrator in Los Angeles, has died.
He succumbed to a three-month illness on Sunday at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center. LeVan was 79.
When court consolidation occurred in 2000, LeVan, who was Judicial Services Bureau chief (also known as the director of judicial support) for the Los Angeles Municipal Court assumed that role at the Los Angeles Superior Court, the position being newly created.
Klemic’s Reflections
His successor as administrator of the Judicial Support Unit (serving from April 2003 to March 2020) was Teresa Klemic, who reflected yesterday:
“Jack LeVan retired from the Los Angeles Superior Court in April, 2003 after close to 40 years of service with the Los Angeles Municipal Court and the Los Angeles Superior Court. He had a deep respect for the court and the judges in particular, in his role in the Judicial Support Unit.
“Jack’s meticulous tracking systems and copious notes on the history of the court were invaluable. He was a great storyteller and could recount events down to the smallest detail. I will truly miss hearing his voice and those wonderful stories of the court that he loved to share.”
LeVan was the Municipal Court’s unofficial historian.
Chaney’s Memories
Court of Appeal Justice Victoria Chaney recounted yesterday:
“I first met Jack Levan in 1990 on the day I was appointed to the Los Angeles Municipal Court. I went to see him in the administrative offices of the Muni Court where he handed me a stack of paperwork to be completed. Feeling a little overwhelmed, and probably looking it too, he patiently guided me through the on-boarding process. At one point, Jack shepherded me to locate a judge to swear me in.
Afterward as I was leaving and about twenty feet away, he called out ‘Judge.’ I kept on walking, as my name wasn’t ‘Judge.’ He called out the name twice more. In curiosity, I finally turned around to figure out whom he was hailing. Much to my amazement, it was me! That was the first time anyone had ever called me ‘Judge.’
“Sometime later, we chatted about our first encounter. Jack explained that he did this with all of ‘his new judges’ so that they would start getting used to the new title. Jack devoted all of his working life to the court. Over the years, I was the beneficiary of his knowledge, wisdom and especially his kindness. He was my ‘go to’ man.”
The jurist added:
“Jack was a longtime member of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Pasadena and a member of the choir for well over 35 years. He was a tenor.
“After he retired, he and I regularly corresponded by email. He was a voracious reader, passionate about his political causes and extremely funny.”
Information on services was not available.
Copyright 2021, Metropolitan News Company