The long time Hunter parish priest who loved his family, his travel and his faith, lived a full and rewarding life. He recently passed away aged 93.

Fr Levey was born in 1927 at Five Dock in Sydney. His early-school years were spent in Croyden, Five Dock and Burwood. The family later moved to Adamstown, then back to Sydney before returning to Newcastle to settle in Hamilton in 1941.

Fr Levey started at Marist Brothers Hamilton aged 14. He left school at 15. His father said he was too young to go to work so he went to business college and learned typing, shorthand and business principles. At age 16 he followed in his father's footsteps and started working at the Transport Office. Initially based in Sydney, he transferred to the Hamilton Depot after 18 months.

When he returned to Newcastle he became involved with the Young Christian Workers which was a platform for socialising with other young Christians and Catholics. He was also involved with the local Catholic Church.

Aged 25 he started to question his life, feeling he should be doing something more with it. In 1955 and at 27 he took leave from work to attend Springwood Seminary. Six months turned into 12 and he completed training at the Seminary and was ordained at Sacred Heart Cathedral in 1962.

His first appointment was an Assistant Priest at Newcastle Parish and Chaplain at Newcastle Hospital. He was then appointed to Taree where he stayed for three years until he was asked to join the army as a Chaplain in 1968. He completed five years army service and served as army Chaplain in Vietnam for 12 months.

After leaving the army he was appointed as Administrator at Maitland before being appointed as Parish Priest in East Maitland. His final position as Parish Priest was in Raymond Terrace where he remained until he retired at 75. He continued in a support clergy role and regularly filled in for priests. He gave his last service the Sunday before he passed away.

Fr Levey loved the great outdoors and enjoyed fishing, camping and shooting. He loved playing squash and was passionate about travel. He had a sense of fun and adventure and travelled to many destinations around the world including Asia, India and Europe.