Joey Leventhal was the third of five children, living a hardscrabble childhood in Toronto’s Kensington Market as his family moved frequently to keep ahead of the rent collector. He often told the story of being sent off to camp for a week thanks to a local charity, and upon his return, he discovered that his parents had moved to another house. During the Depression, he covered the holes in his shoes with cardboard and fought bullies in the back alleys.
For his entire life, Joseph was devoted equally to his scientific passion as well as his artistic passion. Due to his family’s limited financial means, when Joey’s eldest brother began medical school, the entire family had to scrape by to support him. Later in life, when the RCAF offered to pay for Joey’s schooling, he chose medicine over art in order to provide a stable career.
Over his career, he delivered 3,000 babies and he was proud to showcase their photos on the walls of his office. He volunteered at Toronto’s Baycrest Centre in geriatric medicine and was on staff at three other hospitals while maintaining his family practice. There was never downtime.