Obituary of Nancy Leftenant Colon

Nancy Carol Leftenant-Colon, who was born in Goose Creek, South Carolina, September 29, 1920 to the late Eunice Middleton Leftenant and James Leftenant Sr., passed away on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at the tender age of 104.Nancy attended and graduated from the Amityville Union Free School District and Lincoln School for Nurses in the Bronx, NY. After becoming a Registered Nurse, Nancy tried to sign up for the Armed Forces but was informed they were not accepting Black nurses. So, in January 1945, she was accepted as a volunteer in the Army Nurse Corps as a reservist, given the rank of 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to Lowell General Hospital, Fort Devens, Massachusetts.In 1946, Nancy, now a Major, was assigned to Lockbourne AFB (now Rickenbacker Air Force Base), Ohio. It was during this time that President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9981, abolishing segregation on the United States Military. In 1948, Nancy applied for and received Regular Army Nurse Corps status. Nancy became the first Black woman in the Regular Army Nurse Corps! Nancy served in Germany, Japan, Alaska, Ohio, Alabama, Maryland, New York and New Jersey. Nancy was a nurse on the wards and a Flight Nurse. After retiring, Nancy became the School Nurse from 1971-1984 at Amityville Memorial High School. To honor her legacy, Amityville Memorial High School’s Media Center was renamed to the Nancy Leftenant-Colon Media Center.In her spare time, Nancy loved to travel and was an avid gardener. She belonged to the Kappa ETA Chapter of the Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc., a professional service organization for registered nurses. In addition, she served as the National Treasurer, First Vice President, and the first female National President of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. Nancy was awarded honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama and Doctorate of Humane Letter from Mount Saint Vincent College, Riverdale, New York.Nancy leaves to mourn her sister, Amy M. Leftenant of Amityville, New York and stepson, Alan Colon of New Orleans, Louisiana. She is pre- deceased by her parents, Eunice and James Leftenant Sr.; her brothers, Christopher Sr., Herbert, Louis Sr., James Jr., Samuel, and Charles; her sisters, Orana Brewster, Gabriella Crews, Mary E. Leftenant, Joan L. Jackson and Clara E. Jordan, as well as, her husband, Bayard K. Colon. She leaves behind A WORLD OF RELATIVES, especially her nephew, Chris Leftenant, Jr., who cared for her the last six years of her life.