She wore many hats: A hotelier, animal lover — and the first female mayor of West Palm Beach. Helen Wilkes died Wednesday. She was 88.
"She was a really beautiful lady with a big heart," said her husband, Hector Rodriguez. "She wanted to help everybody."
Mrs. Wilkes came to West Palm Beach form Fort Valley, Ga. as a young nurse.
According to a Sun Sentinel article published in 1988, Mrs. Wilkes moved to Florida in 1952. She took a job as a registered nurse at St. Mary's Hospital, earning $175 a month. After saving up, she invested $3,500 in a house in Lake Park, which she converted into a nine-bed nursing home.
She told a reporter, "For seven years, I worked without a day off. I had a dream and I wanted to fulfill it."
When she sold the Helen Wilkes Nursing Home for $3.36 million in the late 80s, it had grown to 85 beds.
The nursing home wasn't the only real estate investment Mrs. Wilkes made. In the 1970s, she purchased a troubled-hotel in West Palm Beach. She renovated the hotel and renamed it the Helen Wilkes Residence Hotel, which operated until it was razed in 2005.
Mrs. Wilkes is most known for her service on the West Palm Beach City Commission. Wilkes served on the dais from 1976 through 1988. She became the city's first female mayor in 1978.
A Sun Sentinel article depicting Mrs. Wilkes' time in office recounts her greatest accomplishments, which include creating the city's first crime watch patrol and working with the city's first black mayor, Eva Mack, to bridge the city's black and white communities.
During her last meeting in office, developers, city officials and commissioners agreed that they clashed with Mrs. Wilkes on various topics, but they all respected her.
"She cared about her town," Rodriguez said.
Mrs. Wilkes also cared about animals. She served as vice president of the nonprofit Animal Support Kindness and Kinship and had two dogs, Miss Chi Chi and Baby.
Rodriguez said he and Mrs. Wilkes had a beautiful life together. He said they traveled and enjoyed spending time at their house in the mountains.
"We enjoyed every minute of our life," he said. "She was go, go, go all the time. She never said 'No' to anything."
In addition to her husband, Mrs. Wilkes is survived by her many nieces and nephews.
A visitation will take place from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday at Quattlebaum Funeral, Cremation and Event Center, 5411 Okeechobee Blvd. A celebration of Mrs. Wilkes' life will begin at 2.
Instead of flowers, the family asks donations be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 5201 Blue Lagoon Dr., Miami, FL 33126. Suite #650.