'An amazing person': Friends and family mourn loss of Leonda Levchuk

Wednesday, May 15, 2019  

A 48-year-old Navajo woman who spent more than 20 years telling the stories of Native people as a public relations professional at the National Museum of the American Indian, the Indian Health Service and the Bureau of Indian Education died May 5 after a brief illness.

Leonda Levchuk, a communications specialist for BIE, had been sick with what she thought was a cold before she died, said close friend April Hale, who owns a public relations firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“When I got the news, I was in shock,” Hale said. “I did not want to believe it.”

Happy #Proud2BIndigenous week! #NMAI Staff, Leonda Levchuk #Navajo pic.twitter.com/JA74AvGEFD

— AmericanIndianMuseum (@SmithsonianNMAI) April 22, 2015

Hale first met Levchuk 13 years ago in Washington, D.C., instantly becoming friends. Together, they founded the DC Native Public Relations Roundtable, a group of Native public relations professionals from public agencies and colleges in the Washington area.

And for more than a year starting in 2016, the two worked together at IHS. Hale said she and Levchuk joined the public agency at the same time.

“We called each other on the same day to tell each other the same news – that we were leaving our jobs, our current jobs, to go work in the public affairs office at Indian Health Service headquarters,” Hale said.

Hale eventually left IHS to return home to New Mexico but remained in contact with Levchuk. She said a mutual friend sent her a message the day after Levchuk died to inform her of her friend’s death.

Levchuk will be remembered for the countless connections she made between newsmakers in Indian Country and the media, Hale said.

“She cared about helping to tell people’s stories, whether that was showcasing artists or musicians, or writing blogs about nurses’ week for IHS or teachers’ week for BIE,” she said. “She had a big heart and she cared a lot, and I think that will likely be the legacy that she leaves behind.”

The many faces of vacation! #Disney #familygoals #fun #universalstudios #florida #holidays pic.twitter.com/GSxQAaEFWA

— Leonda Levchuk (@Levchuckle) January 5, 2017

Levchuk also leaves behind a daughter, mother Berenice, father John, and brother Paul. A private funeral was held May 11, and the family requested any donations in Levchuk’s name be given to the Holbrook Indian School in Holbrook, Arizona.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in speech communication from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, as well as numerous awards and commendations for her work in public health, media, public relations and health promotion.

Levchuk worked for 18 years at the National Museum of the American Indian before leaving to work for IHS and then BIE, at the Department of the Interior.

According to a biography written by her family, Levchuk enjoyed reading celebrity biographies, studying Peruvian culture and crafts, and enjoying Washington’s restaurants. She and her daughter Ana Rose traveled frequently to Disney World Resort and Epcot Theme Park in Orlando, Florida.

“She loved sharing pictures of the food and drinks she was trying around the parks, and she could never collect enough Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears!” her family wrote.

Hale said Levchuk was a deeply caring friend and colleague and would often send letters of congratulations to friends who earned promotions or deliver cupcakes to loved ones on their birthdays.

Levchuk was a “people person,” a characteristic that helped her excel in her chosen profession, Hale said.

“What immediately drew me to her was her laugh, her infectious laugh,” she said. “It’s so distinguishable, and she has this great smile and these really cute dimples.”

“She was an amazing person, such an extraordinary colleague and such an awesome friend.”

In honor, memory, and appreciation of Leonda’s involvement in Indian education, her family requests that, donations be made in her name to the Holbrook Indian School in Holbrook, Arizona.

Donations made in honor of Leonda Levchuk by name will be applied at the family’s request to the girls’ leadership program, the healing with horses program, and the garden program.