Leo J Cyr

Born in Madawaska, ME, the eldest of 6 children born to Patrick and Aline Cyr, after graduating from high school in 1952, Leo moved to Hartford CT where he worked for Stanley Tools. Before he could be inducted into the Army during the Korean War, he joined the US Air Force in 1954. Leo always regaled friends with stories of his antics with the nuns and priests while growing up in Maine, where he was also a proficient potato picker in famous Aroostook county!

During his 20+ years in the USAF, Leo served in Samson NY; Cheyenne WY; Scott AFB IL; Goose Bay, Labrador; Laramie WY; Clark AFB Philippines; Patrick AFB FL; South Ruislip, UK; White Sands Proving Ground, NM; and several tours at the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) as a cryptographer. During his UK assignment, Leo skied for the USAF Ski Team. He was also instrumental in establishing the DIA’s “Commo” section for the Vietnam Peace Talks Delegation in 1968 at the American Embassy in Paris, where he met his future wife, Ann, a Foreign Service secretary. They married in 1972. In 1973, both Ann and Leo returned to Washington, D.C. Leo retired as an E-7 Master Sgt. from the USAF in 1974 (he was offered a promotion to Top Sgt but declined in order to start a second career) and joined the Foreign Service later that year as a "Communicator." In 1975, both Cyrs were assigned to Beirut as a tandem couple, arriving approximately 1 week before the Civil war commenced. After 14 months, he was evacuated to Athens where he worked for 2 months at the Embassy, followed by 2 months in Moscow. Other assignments included Hong Kong, Tunis, Vienna, Amman, Luxembourg, and NATO Brussels. He received several military service-related commendations, the State Department’s Presidential Award for Valor (Beirut), and numerous Meritorious and Superior Honor Awards. Leo retired after NATO in 1996 but accompanied Ann to Kuala Lumpur, where he worked for several Embassy sections and was the Assistant Building Maintenance Supervisor.

After not having lived in the U.S. since 1975, the real culture shock occurred when they returned to Washington, DC in 2000! They both thought the term “long-distance provider” referred to the movers of their household effects!

After Ann’s retirement in late-2001, the Cyrs moved to their newly-constructed home in Delray Beach. Leo was active in his community’s Citizen Observer Patrol (COP) program (he eventually served as the Captain), the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), the Emergency Medical Team, We Care, as well as the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office COP Honor Guard. Under the auspices of Palm Beach County, he received the President’s Volunteer Service Award for volunteerism.

Even in retirement, the Cyrs continued to travel extensively. As an avid expert skier, until a few years ago, Leo was a member of the Palm Beach Ski Club, travelling with the club to Banff, Innsbruck and ski resorts in the U.S. The Cyrs traveled independently as well as participated in many worldwide organized tours. His last trip was with Rhodes Scholar to Costa Rica in January 2026. During his lifetime, Leo visited all seven continents and over 115 countries! They loved new experiences on over 40 ocean and river cruises. They also traveled throughout FL to attend events sponsored by the Foreign Service Retiree Assoc. of FL.

Leo is survived by his beloved wife Ann, children Susan Canada, John Nordmann, Nicole Nocilla, 5 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren, sisters Joan Lavertu of East Hartford CT and Marie St.Onge of Oro Valley, AZ, as well as a niece, five nephews and their children. Two sisters and a brother pre-deceased him.

His cremains will eventually be interred at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth, FL.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to:

The Senior Living Foundation of the American Foreign Service

https://www.slfoundation.org/support.cfm

or

Tunnel To Tower Foundation (T2T)

https://t2t.org