Former Boca Raton mayor Susan Whelchel dies at 77 - a closer look at her legacy

BOCA RATON — Every Christmas, Susan Whelchel would coordinate to wear matching pajamas with her family of 20. She’d then recruit them to help her bake her notable rum cakes – first, 10 for her close friends. Next, it became 30.

“And then she’s in politics, and it was her 100 good friends,” her son, Jay Whelchel, of Boca Raton said. “It would be like a small factory in there, between all of us doing our part, baking these rum cakes.”

Whelchel maintained this sense of unity, organization and humanity throughout all facets of her life: From her work as an educator, to her hours as a volunteer, to her service as a religious leader and public servant.

A former Boca Raton councilwoman and two-term mayor, Whelchel died Aug. 5, after a battle with Alzheimer’s. She was surrounded by her family, the company she longed for as her career advanced through the decades.

Whelchel, 77, paved roads for Boca Raton – her hometown of 44 years – that will long succeed her. And much of her success in doing so can be traced to her diligence when it came to taking action in the community, according to her family, friends and former colleagues.

“Nobody has more perseverance than Susan Whelchel,” her predecessor as mayor Steven Abrams said. “Her approach was being all in.”

Former Boca mayor had vision for a 'world-class city'

This approach is precisely how Whelchel started, and later helped achieve, one of her trademark initiatives of transforming Boca Raton into what she labeled as "a world-class city." Her vision was to bring the city quality education at all levels; distinguished medical facilities; and suitable recreational facilities, public parks and nature centers.

Abrams, who served as mayor for eight years before Whelchel and later became a county commissioner, envisioned the same, vibrant Boca Raton. The pair collaborated for years, starting when Whelchel first ran for a city council seat in 1995, during which Abrams already was a member.

Abrams recalls the various levels at which they discussed the opportunity of the city, two of the most promising being education and business development in the form of adding more jobs to strengthen and grow the community. And together, they acted on these ideas: Abrams at the county level, and Whelchel at the city’s.

Whelchel recognized the importance of forging meaningful relationships with the city’s most dominant stakeholders, her son said.

And it’s this mindset that helped lure companies such as Office Depot, ADT Security Services and Lord & Taylor to the area, adding thousands of jobs. This, he said, is how she believed young adults – including her four children, all of whom left Boca Raton to pursue their studies and work – would be enticed by the city and consider it as a place to live. She is also survived by her husband, John, whom she met in Jacksonville.

She helped do just that. In 2014, Boca Raton was ranked in a special report by digital publication 24/7 Wall St. as No. 11 nationally.

A new middle school was her proudest accomplishment

Whelchel’s passion for bridging gaps between city officials and influential stakeholders helped elevate Boca Raton in the form of on-campus housing at Florida Atlantic University, growth from local status for the Boca Raton Regional Hospital and her proudest accomplishment – helping establish the Don Estridge High Tech Middle School, where IBM’s historic campus once stood.

Whelchel was singularly responsible for bringing the school to the city, Abrams said.

Her belief in the power of education traces back to her 30-year teaching career, which culminated at Boca Raton High School, where she was a teacher of psychology and history, eventually being appointed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush to a two-year term on the Palm Beach County School Board.

Whelchel is a graduate of Jacksonville University, where she studied political science, and Florida Atlantic University and Nova Southeastern University, where she completed post-graduate work.

Ultimately, Whelchel served three terms on city council, becoming deputy mayor, and vice chairman of the Community Redevelopment Agency. Elected mayor in 2008, she was re-elected and served a second term, retiring from politics in 2014 as she was term limited. She was succeeded in 2014 by Susan Haynie.

Whelchel also was an avid volunteer, constantly involved with nonprofits and other organizations in the city. One she deeply cared about was the Junior League of Boca Raton, for which she was named Woman Volunteer of the Year in 2016.

“The same qualities that she exhibited in public office … what you saw is what you got,” Abrams said. “She was fiercely loyal to her family, to her city. She didn’t have a dual personality, she was that one person.”

Former mayor's children, families all reside in Boca Raton

Her family members would agree.

Whelchel’s daughter Kristy Hartofilis, along with other family and friends, refers to her mother as “a force to be reckoned with,” in all areas of her life.

She taught her children self-reliance, but also compassion, hospitality and the meaning of family.

“You would never tell her that you couldn’t come to Sunday dinner,” Hartofilis said. “And you would never tell her you couldn’t come to Christmas Eve services, or the traditions and the family time that was set aside for those traditions.”

And if those achievements weren’t enough, her dream of having her children return to their hometown became a reality. Whelchel’s four children – and 10 grandchildren – are now Boca Raton residents, a privilege which allowed for many of her traditions to be established.

These traditions will live on.

“Rum cakes are being baked as we speak,” Hartofilis said, explaining that her older sister Joanne was in charge of preparing the cakes ahead of their mother’s services.

Funeral services were held for Whelchel on Thursday afternoon. And flags of the United States and Florida were flown at half-staff in Florida’s capital of Tallahassee, at the Palm Beach County Courthouse in West Palm Beach and at the City Hall of Boca Raton from sunrise to sunset on Thursday, as well.

“She just was always active,” Jay said. “She was never good at sitting still. There always had to be something going on. She had to be involved in something.”

Jasmine Fernández is a journalist covering Delray Beach and Boca Raton at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at jfernandez@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @jasminefernandz. Help support our work. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Former Boca Raton mayor Susan Whelchel dies at 77