Obituary: Susan Levy

Family left 'devastated'

The first victim of the 7 July bombings to be formally identified, Susan Levy was travelling from her home in Hertfordshire to the City, where she worked as a legal secretary.

Mrs Levy, 53, was described by her husband Harry as a "devoted and much-loved wife and mother of two sons" - Daniel, 25, and Jamie, 23.

"We are all devastated by our loss," said Mr Levy.

"She was a valued and respected member of her extended Jewish family and will be deeply mourned and sadly missed by us and her many friends."

Born on 17 December 1951, Mrs Levy had become accustomed to sharing the first half of her 17-mile commute from Newgate Street Village, near Cuffley, with her younger son.

On the morning of the attacks she had said goodbye to Jamie, who got off at Finsbury Park, while she remained on the Piccadilly Line train which exploded underneath Russell Square.

The family's tragedy was exacerbated even further when it emerged that the day after Mrs Levy's death, her estranged sister Ruth Frankel had died in hospital after a long illness.

The two sisters had not spoken for about eight years and Mrs Frankel had not been aware her sister was missing in the London attacks.

'Special'

"Sue was very much a loving mother," Mr Levy's cousin Jason told the Hoddesdon and Broxbourne Mercury.

"They were the most tight-knit family imaginable. They did everything together. I feel for the two boys - they are absolutely devastated."

Her smile was enchanting, her laughter contagious Friends Lucille and Edward Welchman

A couple who met Mr and Mrs Levy on holiday in Florida five years ago told the Guardian she was the "type of person that once you met her you felt you had known her for years".

"Her smile was enchanting, her laughter contagious," said Lucille and Edward Welchman.

"When we became grandparents, she and Harry adopted our grandsons as their own.

"'Aunt Susan' was special - Gabriel is the only child in first grade here in Port Charlotte who has a backpack from Harrods."

More than 100 family members and friends attended Mrs Levy's cremation in a private service in Golders Green, north London.