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WEINSTOCK -- Lev Weinstock died on April 28, 2006 at age 34. He was born in Brussels, Belgium on December 20, 1971. During his first years at school, his classmates considered him a wise soul, and called him the "Sage" or the "Judge." He was especially close to his sister, Tamara. Lev just couldn't tolerate injustice, and while in high school, he enrolled his parents in the struggle against the sectarian misuse of the Auschwitz death camp. Lev had a keen sense of social justice and a lasting interest in non-European culture. It is therefore hardly surprising that he studied anthropology. Lev graduated with a Bachelor's Degree from the Universite Libre de Brusselles, and then went on to receive a Master's Degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. He loved traveling and sojourning in foreign cultures on a shoestring budget, sharing the everyday life of the local population. He had a very generous nature and was a gifted painter. In his professional life, Lev was a self-taught computer and internet programmer. He worked in Ireland, England, the U.S., and Afghanistan. Lev spoke French, English, Turkish, and Hebrew, and learned some Dari in Kabul where he worked for DACAAR, a Danish NGO that provides clean water to rural communities. Lev moved to Albuquerque in 1999. He found a second home with the Koplik family. Emily and Sara never failed to assist and support him with unstinting generosity. Before actually settling in New Mexico, Lev got to know their wonderful husband and father, the late Dr. Lewis Koplik, and felt very close to him. Lev made many friends while teaching classes at Continuing Education, working for UNM, and lastly at Northrup Grumann. He leaves behind a distraught family in Brussels: parents, Nathan and Micheline Weinstock; grandmother, Georgette Paquay; sister, Tamara Kawam; brother-in-law, Marc Kawam; and three adoring and bereft nephews, Thomas, Ben, and Daniel. Special friends in New Mexico include Ilene Carmenaty, Elijah Allen, Jeff Jones, Ivana Starcevic, and heartbroken Chihuahuas, Bronislaw and Ziggy. The Funeral Service will be held at Congregation Albert, 3800 Louisiana NE, on Friday May 5, 2006 at 2 p.m., with burial to follow immediately at Fairview Memorial Park, 700 Yale SE. Shiva will start on Sunday, May 7, 2006. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Lev's memory to NAMI-Albuquerque, 6001 Marble NE, Suite #7, Albuquerque NM 87110, www.nami.org/sites/albuquerque or to Compassion Beyond Borders, P.O. Box 22991, Santa Fe NM 87502, www.compassionwob.info. French Mortuary 1111 University Blvd. NE 843-6333
        Published on: Wed May 03, 2006