Former Lincoln Mayor and past gubernatorial candidate Helen Boosalis died at a Lincoln hospice this morning. Helen and her husband Mike sat in the pew behind our family's at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church for many years. I served on committees and in clubs alongside her several times, and really have never met a classier, more gracious and intelligent, gifted natural leader. Her charm, wit and sparkling sense of humor set everyone at ease. Her energy was amazing. You will be greatly missed, Helen.
Of historical note, Mrs. Boosalis was the first woman mayor of a city with a population over 100,000 people in the nation. Her race for the governor's seat against Republican Kay Orr in 1986 was also a first for the nation. I think of her fondly every spring when the hundreds of ornamental pear trees she planted along Lincoln streets bloom, and every fall when their scarlet foliage ignites the pedestrian ways with beauty.
As the Greeks say, eonia I mnimi ~ eternal be her memory. Rest in peace, dear sister.
Bradford pear blossoms like the ones on the trees that grace Lincoln, Nebraska thanks to Helen!
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