Lily Levy honors her parents Isaak and Paula Kahn, who were born in Germany in 1883 and 1891, respectively. Isaak had fought during World War I for the Germans. Issak, who worked as a butcher, was 55 years old when he left Germany, while his wife Paula, a housewife, was 45. They left in 1936 through the aid of the May family, who helped many of their fellow Jews leave Germany before the war began. Lily remembers her parents as down to earth people. In particular, she recalls that her mother believed in the importance of a good education. While in Nashville, Isaak worked as a butcher at the May Hosiery Mill lunchroom. Paula Kahn died in 1967 and Isaak Kahn died in 1973.
The Nashville Holocaust Memorial