Leona Marie Coulombe, 62
Dateline: Alexandria, Virginia
Leona Marie Coulombe passed away at the age of 62 on December 18, 2022 at her home in Alexandria, VA after battling a series of serious illnesses for more than two years. She was the first of four children born to Roger Jean-Louis Coulombe and Patricia Geraldine (Fitzpatrick) Coulombe. Leona’s early years were spent in the outskirts of Boston where she graduated from Stoughton High School in 1978. She attended the University of Maine at Orono where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education and a Master’s degree in Public Administration.
Leona felt the strong call to public service and, upon her graduation in 1984, she was accepted into the prestigious Presidential Management Intern program for high achieving college graduates interested in working for the Federal Government. She began her 37-year career at the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Arlington, Virginia. Leona worked in the field of acquisition management for major weapons systems and advanced to the position of Branch Chief and Supervisory Contracting Officer responsible for the procurement, review and oversight of the acquisition of millions of dollars of Naval equipment. One of her proudest and most rewarding achievements was her work in procuring missile systems for the NATO SEASPARROW Program. She had the pleasure and honor to travel and work closely with many naval officers representing NATO countries. She received several awards for her work on this program. In 1995, she moved to the Department of State where she served as a Branch Chief in the Office of Acquisition Management. She rose to the position of Division Chief leading a group of professionals who provided both technical and acquisition oversight support to the entire Office of Acquisition Management and serving customers throughout the Department of State. She also held the position of the Special Assistant to the Director of Acquisition Management.
In 1999 she was recruited to join the Bureau of Intelligence and Research as an Office Director. In 2003, Leona rose to the rank of Senior Executive Service, the highest-ranking cadre of executives who lead the civilian agencies of the Federal Government. This is equivalent to the rank of General in the military service. At the time of her retirement in February 2022, Leona was serving as the Executive Director for the Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
Leona’s claim to fame in her professional career was her ability to lead people. On several occasions she was placed in charge of an organization that was floundering or experiencing a period of extensive change. Leona was the consummate transformational leader who could calmly and compassionately lead people through the challenges of change. Her genuine love for people enabled her to create a sense of community in the workplace wherever her career took her. She always made herself available to listen to anyone who needed to discuss a problem, personal or professional, and offered insightful suggestions for solutions. Leona never met a problem she wasn’t willing to address or a person she wasn’t willing to help. She tackled everything in life with a robust sense of humor, often making fun of herself. She was known to say the most unexpected thing that would catch people off-guard, they would pause with a confused look on their faces and then begin laughing at the joke. Many people told Leona that she would be great as a stand-up comedienne.
Leona is survived by her mother Patricia Coulombe of North Easton, her brother Paul Coulombe of North Easton, and her sister Anne Calder of New Jersey. She was preceded in death by her father, Roger Coulombe and her sister, Aimee Chadbourne. Leona was a giving and loving aunt to her two nieces (Jacqueline Brewer and Meghan Brown), three nephews (Matthew Chadbourne, Steven Brown, and Thomas Conklin), two great-nieces and one great-nephew. Despite living at a distance from most of them, Leona never missed the opportunity to shower them with gifts for birthdays, Christmas, or back to school time. She was known for spoiling them with too many clothes and presents.
Her Funeral Mass, to which relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend, will be celebrated on Tuesday, December 27th at 11:00 A.M. in Saint Mary’s Church, 330 Pratt Street (Route 106) Mansfield. Burial will follow at Saint Mary’s Cemetery in Mansfield.
Visiting hours are omitted and in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Habitat for Humanity.
A Celebration of Life will be held in the spring in the Washington, DC area for her numerous friends and colleagues.
Arrangements are under the care and direction of the Sherman & Jackson Funeral Home, 55 North main Street, Mansfield.
To send her family a message of condolence, please visit www.shermanjackson.com