Wilma Leona Jackson was born to Roy and Carrie (Furnas) Class in Union, Ohio in 1909.

In September 1930, she graduated from nurse's training school at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio.

She earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degree in nursing administration from Columbia University.

[1] Leona Jackson was appointed to the United States Navy Nurse Corps on 6 July 1936.

She was the senior nurse corps officer in the Island Command until her transfer in December 1945.