As the first woman to serve as Mayor of Boca Raton and later as the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Dorothy H. Wilken was a formidable architect of modern Palm Beach County. Mrs. Wilken died on June 22, 2026, at the age of 90, leaving a legacy defined by shattered glass ceilings and a fierce commitment to public transparency.

Born in Annville Township, Pennsylvania, Mrs. Wilken was educated at the Emma Willard School and George Washington University before arriving in Florida in 1965. She moved to Boca Raton to take a position at Florida Atlantic University, where she later earned a Master of Public Administration. She did not simply inhabit the community; she sought to shape it, quickly becoming a woman of action who advocated for the annexation of University Park. Her early years in Florida were defined by a drive to organize, leading her to become a founding member of the Citizens for Reasonable Growth, an organization dedicated to environmental preservation.

Her breakthrough into local governance occurred in March 1976, when she was elected by the city council as the first woman to serve as the Mayor of Boca Raton. Mrs. Wilken famously dismissed the novelty of her gender, stating, "I didn't want to be the first woman mayor; I wanted to be the best mayor." According to the Boca Raton Historical Society, her mayoral tenure was defined by high-stakes battles over land use, including the establishment of park impact fees to fund public land acquisition. She led the city's successful effort to purchase South Inlet Beach for public use, ensuring that the coastline remained accessible to the citizenry rather than being lost to private development.

This environmental passion was a shared mission within her home. She was married to Wesley Wilken, a climate activist and artist known locally as the "Green Panther," whose influence reinforced her policy decisions. Together, they represented a gritty, preservationist front in a rapidly developing county. Columnist Kartik Krishnaiyer noted that she was "feisty and tough but always respectful," even as she faced opposition from leaders who sought to demonize her efforts. Her evolution continued in 1982 when she began an eight-year tenure as a Palm Beach County Commissioner for District 4, where she continued to champion reasonable growth.

In 1992, Mrs. Wilken entered her late career period by becoming the first woman elected as the Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller in Palm Beach County. She viewed the office not as a dry administrative hub, but as a site for a visionary crusade for transparency. As noted by the Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller, she modernized the office by transitioning millions of paper records into online digital formats. This digital preservation effort brought the county into the modern era and earned her office the Governor's Sterling Award for organizational excellence. Current Clerk Mike Caruso observed that she set a high standard for accountability in every office she held.

Mrs. Wilken is survived by her four daughters and 15 grandchildren. She will be remembered as a leader who viewed public service as a tool for permanent preservation. From the sands of South Inlet Beach to the digital archives of the court system, her work ensured that the physical and legal history of Palm Beach County remained in the hands of the public she served.