Philip G. Levendusky Obituary
Dr. Philip George Levendusky passed away peacefully on April 17, 2025, after a courageous battle with Frontotemporal Dementia & Alzheimer's Disease.
Philip was born on October 21, 1946, in Lowell, MA to Lt. Colonel Harry George Levendusky and Phylis Cowgill Levendusky. Growing up in a military family, young Philip moved a lot, including stops in Austria, Maryland, and Georgia. He often mentioned that having to attend ten different elementary & middle schools forced him to develop "strong Polish gumption.". Eventually, the Levendusky family settled in Littleton, MA, where Phil became a prominent student-athlete and proud member of the Littleton High School Class of 1964.
After high school, Phil spent a couple years finding himself and trying lots of different things, including a semester at Furman University, a job folding sweaters at Jordan Marsh, a couple of semesters playing baseball at the University of Buffalo, working as a cab driver, applying to the US Army helicopter pilot training program, working as a toll booth collector on the Tobin Bridge, and a couple of weeks of dental school. He eventually focused his efforts and found his passion in Psychology, ultimately completing a B.A. at the University of Massachusetts–Boston, then a M.S. & Ph.D in Clinical Psychology at Washington State University, and finally a Post Doctoral Fellowship in Behavioral Therapy at Stony Brook University.
In 1974, Phil joined the faculty of McLean Hospital, the primary psychiatric affiliate of Harvard Medical School and Mass General Brigham. Over the next 50 years he advanced to become Director of Psychology & Psychology Training, Senior Vice President of Business Development & Communications, and Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. He was renowned as a pioneer in the development of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, leading McLean's nationally recognized internship program, and establishing ground-breaking treatment programs in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Mexico. Phil was passionately dedicated to everything about McLean Hospital, most importantly, all of his colleagues and patients. He poured his heart & soul into McLean, and the hospital truly became part of his identity.
Away from work, Phil eagerly volunteered his efforts to numerous causes, including serving on the Manchester-Essex Regional School Committee, assisting with various fund-raising campaigns, and coaching youth sports. He also had a well-deserved reputation for somehow always being able to make himself available to offer thoughtful and compassionate advice/assistance to anyone, whether they were close friends or total strangers just referred to him.
While Phil was always focused on professional & volunteer efforts, his true soft spot remained family. He was the best Dad ever to his kids Jason, Anya, and Hunter, and the best Grandpa ever to his grandkids Jackson, Will, and Hadley. Phil spent over 40 years together with his wife, Cynthia Becton, as true soul mates. They married in 1995 and raised their extended family together while spending time in Manchester, MA, Blue Hill, ME, and Rochester, VT. The highlight of Phil's life was watching all of his kids and grandkids grow-up and being each of their #1 fans.
We will all miss every facet of Phil so much, including his unique fashion sense, his eclectic dinner menus, his obsession with all things Washington State University (Cougar for Life!), the random collection of songs he somehow made us all love, and his drier than the Sahara Desert sense of humor.
Phil is survived by his beloved wife, Cynthia; his son, Jason Levendusky and daughter-in-law, Abby; his daughter, Anya and son, Hunter; his grandchildren, Jackson, William, and Hadley (all of Manchester, MA); his brother, Michael (Brunswick, ME); and his niece, Kristen DiPietro and her family (Fieldsboro, NJ).
A celebration of Phil's life will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to: • McLean Hospital https://giving.mclean.org. or mail to McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Mail Stop 126, Belmont, MA 02478, in the name of Philip Levendusky, for the hospital and programming that meant so much to him over his career and lifetime.
Alzheimer's Association at https://www.alz.org.
