Fort Kent---Mrs. Leona Paradis, 97, passed away peacefully on May 21, 2020.  She was born in Fort Kent, on a potato farm, on September 20, 1922 to the late Hubald and Delima (Clavette) Hebert.  She graduated from Fort Kent Community High School in 1940.  In October of 1945, following the end of World War II, she married her high school sweetheart, Quentin Paradis, in Salinas, CA.  After Quentin's discharge from military service, they relocated back to Maine where they started a family and eventually built their own home.

Prior to her marriage, Leona was employed as a bookkeeper for the town of Fort Kent.  Early in her marriage, while still in California, she was employed at Fort Ord in the Supply Department.  Once back in Maine, she worked as a bank teller for Northern National Bank at the Fort Kent branch and later in the mortgage department at the Presque Isle branch.  During this time, Leona raised 5 children and enjoyed 61 years of marriage to Quentin before he passed away in 2007.  After she and her husband saw their children through college, and following retirement, Leona became very active in Fort Kent Historical Society, the Ladies of St. Anne, the Fort Kent Senior Citizens' Club and the Good Shepherd Shop.  She and Quentin also travelled, usually in the Fall, after they'd put their vegetable garden to bed.  They even tried living in Florida for a time, but they missed the ways and climate of Maine and returned.  Leona was a wonderful cook and baker; her Christmas chocolates were known to mysteriously disappear from the "cold room", where she stored them before the holidays.  She was also an avid walker, walking "around the Mills" multiple times per week at a very rapid clip; she was hard to keep up with! And as a woman of deep faith, she believed in the power of prayer, reciting her rosary every evening.

Besides her parents and her husband, Leona was predeceased by eleven siblings: Lena Clavette, Lily Gagnon, Melina Pelletier, Rose Charette, Wilfred Hebert, Agnes Albert, Alice Weil, Germaine Hebert, Patrice Hebert, Rene Hebert and Evangeline Brawn.

Leona is survived by her two sisters: Mrs. Anna Doucette of East Hartford, CT and Mrs. Jeannette Billier of Pearland, TX; by her five children and their spouse: Irvin and Cynthia Paradis, Ryan and Marilyn Paradis, Colleen and Roland Baker, Robert and Judy Paradis, Marie and Cal Bohovich. She is also survived by ten grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.  She will be missed by all.

The family wishes to express their gratefulness to Kenneth and Joan Paradis, Dr. James Harris, and the staff at Crosswinds Residential Facility for the care and compassion shown to our Mother.  Those who wish may contribute in memory of Leona to the Activity Fund at Crosswinds, 40 Village Road, Fort Kent, ME 04743 or a charity of your choosing.  A Mass of Christian burial will be scheduled at a later date.  Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Lajoie-Daigle Funeral Home.

For online streaming of Leona's funeral service, please visit www.boxcast.tv/view/leona- paradis-funeral-787493