Robert Leventry, AKA George Alexander

Bingo Bob Leventry

July 16, 1921- June 28, 2010

Back in the day, when people paid with cash, my grandpa forgot his shoes in a hotel room. When he noticed they were gone, he went back to the front desk. Unfortunately, he checked in under his favorite alias, George Alexander, and the cashier refused to hand the shoes over without valid ID.


Those of you who know Bingo Bob know he's crazy. And those of you who know us both probably suspect that's where I got my crazy.

When I was growing up he would always tell us that he lost all his toes in the war. Then one day I saw him with his socks off and counted a full ten toes. It was a pretty good story while it lasted.

Gramps turned 88 years old last July and we celebrated the same way we always do... with lottery tickets. But last year Jenn finally decided stop wasting money on a PA Lotto Scratch Offs & baked a huge scatch off cake for Pappy.

When I was a girl, about 13ish, Jessie Snyder & I took an Carlisle Arts Council summer drawing class in the basement of the old folks home. One Saturday morning my Mama was busy, so she sent Grandpa to pick us up. He rolled up to the center with all four windows down & Polka music blaring. Oddly, I wasn't embarrassed. But Jessie, hoy vey, she was so mortified that she laid down in the back seat while pappy & I rocked out in the front, the whole way through town. Good times.

Every Christmas the whole fam-damnly would indulge Bingo Bob some serious Christmas Bingo. Each year we would bring more & more presents. Amy would always show up with some funny ones, and last year Aunt Connie came with some awesome homemade scarves. And Laura always send yummies. Anyway, Pappy would always call out the numbers; using a crazy bingo lingo. He always had some crazy, kitchy line to add to the number, including o-71, Bang on the Drum; o-66 clickity click, and of course, Liboratchy!

Back when I was in college, Pappy liked stickers. And I quickly became his supplier. He had so many stickers on the back of his car, he could barely see out of the back window.

Still, to this day, people come up to us at car show & ask how gramps is doing. Back in the early 80's, when we first started parking cars, Pappy came to help, and, of course, everyone loved him! One time when he was traveling through Camp Lejune, Pappy spotted a car show fella. Pappy called out to him, & off they went to play bingo.

Pappy also used to pick up hitch hikers. I remember the one time he got lost in Baltimore or some other inner-city. He stopped for directions and ended up giving a prostitute & her pimp a ride. He told the story, because the lady sat between Pappy & the pimp, on a huge pile of quarters & she didn't steal any!

When I was a kid, my parents sent me to visit pappy & my grandma in Johnstown for a week. I loved it. I slept on the brown shag carpet on grandpa's bedroom floor. He always had sugary cereal in the morning & grandma would show us all the old Barbies in the basement.

In addition to lying about his injuries, Pappy would also make a habit of fibbing about his rank in the US Air Force. At Jenn's wedding @ the Carlisle Barracks we wrote a seat card out for Five Star General Robert Leventy... Oh, the wait staff went crazy. They all wanted pictures with him and were constantly asking if he needed anything else.

We decided to name the babe after both D's grandfather, Alexander, and Bingo Bob. Grandpa Alexander Nastas struggled through the Russian Gulag and we hope the babe will inherit his strength & perseverance. Grandpa Robert Leventry made everyone he met laugh out loud with his funny faces, crazy bird calls and ridicules stories, and we hope the boy will inherit that sense of humor.

And although I can't play 18 Bingo cards at once, the one thing I learned very well from Pappy was his monkey call! Whoo, whoo, haa, haa... .we've even taught they baby what a monkey says already!

Pappy lived a very full life. Touched many, many lives. And we're all better off for knowing him.

I love you Grandpa!