Florence Sloan Leonhart, the wife of former U.S. Ambassador William Leonhart, died Nov. 6 of heart failure at George Washington Hospital. She was 90.
Mrs. Leonhart actively participated in embassy life and projects around the world. In between her husband’s overseas assignments, she made her home in the District.
After serving in Argentina, the Leonharts were posted to Yugoslavia when Marshal Josip Tito came to power in 1946. Postwar conditions were difficult in Belgrade, and she recalled having to burn furniture to keep warm.
The Leonharts also lived in Rome, Vietnam, Japan and Tanzania. They returned to Yugoslavia in 1969 and arranged a state visit by President Nixon and the first astronauts to land on the moon.
She also lived in London while her husband attended the Imperial Defense College.
Mrs. Leonhart returned to the District in 1971, where she was active in many clubs and charitable causes. She served as president of the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide, the Washington-Tokyo Women’s Club and the Capital Speakers Club.
She and her husband started the Daval Foundation based on their art collections to help educate young artists. They also donated a collection of Yokohama woodblock prints to the Smithsonian Institution and art to Duke and West Virginia universities.
Mrs. Leonhart was born in West Virginia. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English from West Virginia University and worked briefly in New York City for the American Heart Association before her marriage in 1944.
Mrs. Leonhart is survived by her two daughters, Deborah Lott of Arlington and Victoria Trefs of Lake Bluff, Ill.; a sister, Sylvia Mallory of Charleston, W.Va.; and four grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband and her brother, Dr. I. Walter Sloan.
Helen R. Gant, 91, worked at Smithsonian
Helen Relic Gant, a former department head at the Smithsonian Institution who later worked at her husband’s medical office, died Nov. 7 of complications of Alzheimer’s disease at the Washington Home. She was 91.
Born in Cleveland, she came to the Washington area during World War II because of employment opportunities. She worked at the Veterans Administration Regional Office and as chief of personnel at the Smithsonian Institution.
While at the VA, she met Dr. James Q. Gant Jr., who was chief of the Skin and Allergy Clinic. After they married, she worked at his dermatological office on I Street Northwest.
Mrs. Gant is survived by a son, William Fentress of Herndon; two daughters, Carole Riley of the District and Janet Marano of Reston; five grandchildren and a great-grandson.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.