88 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Ms. Chomiak-Salvi’s tours in Washington, D.C., included service in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Bureau of European Affairs, where she worked on issues of NATO and Western Europe. Her last assignment was as deputy coordinator of the Bureau of International Information Programs (2014–2017). In that role, she led a team that developed campaigns to engage the public worldwide on foreign policy issues. Ms. Chomiak-Salvi retired in 2018. She spoke Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, French, and Italian, as well as rudimentary German and Dutch. She and her husband, Lucantonio Salvi, raised two sons, Paul and Stephen. In retirement, Ms. Chomiak-Salvi taught public diplomacy at the Foreign Service Institute, the Meridian International Center, and for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. She was a member of the Holy Trinity Catholic Church community. Ms. Chomiak-Salvi is survived by her husband, Lucantonio Salvi; sons, Paul and Stephen; mother, Martha Bohachevsky Chomiak of Washington, D.C.; and sister, Dora Chomiak of New York City. In lieu of flowers, a contribution may be made in her memory to the National Breast Cancer Coalition or to RAZOM for Ukraine. n Leo James Cyr, 92, a retired Foreign Service information management specialist, died on August 21, 2026, in Delray Beach, Fla., of cardiac complications. Mr. Cyr was born in Madawaska, Maine, the eldest of six children, to Patrick and Aline Cyr. Graduating from high school in 1952, he moved to Hartford, Conn., where he worked for Stanley Tools. In 1954 he joined the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and served over 20 years in New York, Wyoming, Illinois, Labrador, the Philippines, Florida, the United Kingdom, and New Mexico, and did several tours at the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) as a cryptographer. During his U.K. assignment, Mr. Cyr skied for the USAF Ski Team. He was also instrumental in establishing DIA’s “Commo” section for the 1968 Vietnam peace talks delegation at U.S. Embassy Paris, where he met his future wife, Ann, a Foreign Service secretary. They married in 1972 and returned to Washington, D.C., in 1973. In 1974 Mr. Cyr retired from the USAF as an E-7 Master Sergeant. Though offered a promotion, he declined, choosing to start a second career in the U.S. Foreign Service as a “communicator.” The Cyrs were assigned to Beirut as a tandem couple in 1975, arriving approximately one week before civil war erupted. After 14 months, Mr. Cyr was evacuated to Athens where he worked for two months, followed by two months in Moscow. Other assignments included Hong Kong, Tunis, Vienna, Amman, Luxembourg, and NATO Brussels. Mr. Cyr received several military service–related commendations, the State Department’s Presidential Award for Valor (Beirut), and numerous Meritorious and Superior Honor Awards. Mr. Cyr retired in 1996 but accompanied Ms. Cyr on her assignment in Kuala Lumpur. There he worked for several embassy sections and was the assistant building maintenance supervisor. After Ms. Cyr’s retirement in late 2001, the couple moved to their newly constructed home in Delray Beach, Fla. There, Mr. Cyr was active in his community’s Citizen Observer Patrol (COP) program (for which he eventually served as the captain), the Community Emergency Response Team, the Emergency Medical Team, and 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. The Cyrs continued to travel in retirement. An avid expert skier until just a few years ago, Mr. Cyr was a member of the Palm Beach Ski Club, traveling with the club to Banff, Innsbruck, and ski resorts in the U.S. The couple also traveled throughout Florida to attend Foreign Service Retiree Association events. They participated in more than 40 ocean and river cruises. During his lifetime, Mr. Cyr visited all seven continents and more than 115 countries. His last trip was with Road Scholar to Costa Rica in January 2026. Mr. Cyr is survived by his beloved wife, Ann; children, Susan Canada, John Nordmann, and Nicole Nocilla; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; sisters, Joan Lavertu of East Hartford, Conn., and Marie St. Onge of Oro Valley, Ariz.; as well as a niece, five nephews, and their children. His parents, two sisters, and a brother predeceased him. Memorial donations may be made to the Senior Living Foundation of the American Foreign Service in Washington, D.C., or to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation (T2T) in Staten Island, N.Y. n Roger Roland Gamble, 93, a retired Foreign Service officer and U.S. ambassador to Suriname, died peacefully at his home in Port Haywood, Va., on July 10, 2026. Born in Deer River, Minn., Mr. Gamble enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from Deer River High School. A Korean War veteran, he was sent to Japan in December 1951 following training as a radio intercept operator at Brooks Air Force Base.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODIyMDU=