Dorothy “Lea” (Jablonsky) Uhre, 77, of Poway, Calif., died on Sept. 16, 2023.

A funeral was held at St. James by-the-Sea on Sept. 22, at 2 p.m. The family asks that you consider making a donation to The Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy in her honor. 

Lea was born in West Point, N.Y., on June 19, 1946, to Dorothy Angelica Schuyler Jarman and Major General Harvey J. Jablonsky.  She was the granddaughter of Dorothy Donald and Major General Sanderford Jarman.

Lea went to Horace Mann Elementary School and graduated from Sidwell Friends. She received her undergraduate degree from Miami University (Ohio), majoring in Political Science with a minor in French, and her master’s degree in Library and Information Science from The Catholic University of America.

Lea retired from public service as the Director of the White House Library and Research Services, a role in which she served from 2005 until 2012. In addition to managing a team of 14 librarians and overseeing three physical libraries, she managed the White House’s historic and architectural archive. She also worked closely with the U.S. General Services Administration on historic exhibits in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.  

In 2011, Catholic University awarded her the School of Library and Information Science’s Raymond Von Dran Memorial Award for her outstanding contributions to the library profession and for her innovation, collaboration, and leadership at the White House Library. In 2012, she was awarded the Catholic University Alumni Achievement Award for excellence in the Library and Archive professions.

Prior to her time at the White House library, Lea served in diverse positions in the public and private sectors. Most notably, Lea served First Lady Barbara Bush for three years. She began her time with Mrs. Bush during the Vice Presidency. After overseeing the transition to the White House, Lea served as Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Scheduling and Correspondence. 

Lea also worked in the U.S. Departments of Energy, Interior and Treasury, U.S. General Services Administration, and the Office of Personnel Management.  She also held positions on Capitol Hill and worked in the private sector.

Lea began her career working for Senator George Murphy (R-CA); Herb Klein, Communications Director for President Nixon; Martha Mitchell and Attorney General John Mitchell at the U.S. Department of Justice.  She later worked as a field coordinator in the northeast for the Young Voters for the President.

She served as a National Officer of The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America from 2018 to 2020.  She also served on the Dumbarton House Board from 2018 to 2022.  She was a member of the Junior League, the American Library Association and the Society of American Archivists. She was an active member of St. Alban’s Church. She was an active parent volunteer at her children’s schools and served on the Board of Trustees for Norwood School.

Lea is survived by her husband, Curtis Uhre; daughters, Katharine Lea Gregorio (Jon) and Emily Paige Uhre (Tom Robertson); brother, David Jablonsky of Carlisle, Pa.; stepbrother, Jim Tully of Nashville, Tenn.; mother-in-law, Maurine Uhre, formerly of Letcher; four grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.  

She was preceded in death by her two sisters, Jean Rickard and Alice Jablonsky.