THE DAYTONA BEACH NEWS-JOURNAL
Daytona Beach, Florida
Monday, November 8, 2004

In Memory
of
BETTY BEST STEFLIK

Betty was born June 27, 1917, in Snowhill, N.C., to Sidney Deans and Irene Joyner Deans. She was the fourth child in their family of seven children. When Betty married Michael Steflik, they moved to Flagler County in 1944.

Betty is survived by her husband, Michael, and three daughters, Mechele Conklin, Mari­anne Irish and Bette Steflik.

The last 25 years of her life, Betty dedicated herself to preserving Flagler County's fragile coast line and wet lands. Betty's vision as a Flagler Beach City Commissioner is preserved in the unique charm and character Flagler Beach has as a result of zoning and height restrictions and supporting lo­cal, small businesses. Bob Mish, local Flagler environmentalist and Flagler Beach Commissioner has said, "Flagler Beach would have a totally different look today if it were not for her vision and commitment."

For the 12 years that Betty was a city commissioner she accomplished: Protection of Coastal Dunes by building dune walkovers; Acquisition of Funding for the Conversion of the Flagler Beach Wickline Center as a Senior Service Center; petitioning signature support and acquisition of funding for the purchase of a 350 acre parcel of wetland known as Flagship Harbor.

On March 22, 2004, Betty was honored by the Flagler Beach Commissions for her dedication to the integrity of the community by being named Betty Steflik Flagship Harbor Pavilion. Betty was impassioned in bringing together the Flagler Beach Community to a civic excellence. Betty's wish is fulfilled in protection and sustaining a natural beauty in her own words "for our children of our community to enjoy." As her daughters, we are very proud that she listened to our concerns about ecological impact and characters effacement of the county we were raised in. She worked with other citizens to return the Florida heritage that makes Flagler Beach a desired place to live today.

Funeral service will be 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, at First Baptist Church of Bunnell, 401 E. Moody Blvd., Bunnell. Viewing will be from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 9, at Craig-Flagler Palms Funeral Home, 511 Old Kings Road S. Flagler Beach.


FLAGLER/PALM COAST NEWS-TRIBUNE
Palm Coast, Florida
Wednesday, November 10, 2004

LOCAL 'VISIONARY' BETTY STEFLIK DIES
By Nicole Service, Staff Writer

BUNNELL - Betty Steflik, advocate of the area's wetlands and coast, died at her home in Flagler Beach on Sunday.

And while many people remember the 87-year-old as the determined former city commissioner who changed the face of Flagler Beach, her daughter and namesake Bette Steflik recalls some more personal moments, like her mother singing while washing the dishes.

"My mother knew how to enjoy herself and make the most of any situation," Bette said.

Friends family members and community leaders said the picturesque Flagler Beach of today is a result of Steflik's commitment and vision for the environment.

"She was a feisty, lively, unrelenting, determined lady who usually got her way, and it was a pleasure the whole time," County Commission Chairman Jim Darby said of working with Steflik. "She was a wonderful friend and a wonderful historian in terms of giving you background information on how things had come about over the years."

Steflik moved to Flagler County in 1944 when she married her husband, Michael. She served on the Flagler Beach City Commission for 12 years beginning in 1979. Accomplishments during her tenure included obtaining grants and getting the Flagler Beach City Commission to put 27 dune walkovers on the beach.

Steflik is credited with initiat­ing the purchase of 350 acres of wetlands that today is a county park - Flagship Harbor. In honor of her effort, the County Commission honored her in March by naming the Flagship Harbor Park pavilion in her honor.

Friends described her as the driving force toward restoring the Wickline Center on South Daytona Avenue, once the site of the first and only (free-standing) elementary school in Flagler Beach.

Darby said at the time the center was in such a bad state that most people, except for Steflik, gave up hopes of repairing it.

Flagler Beach resident Jack Kelly, who served for eight years with Steflik, said the North Carolina native should be remembered for her determination.

"You couldn't turn her down," Kelly said. "She was always like that. She would always go after the tough things and get them. You just couldn't say no to her, and if you did she would just call you back."

He added Steflik was a visionary, citing her success at obtaining grants to purchase 50 acres east of State Road A1A known as "The Rocks" that became part of the Washington Oaks Gardens State Park.

"She recognized that it was a very unique beach, and she was always out ahead of thinking what could be done," Kelly said. "I just don't know where she got that. She found the goals and she stayed with them, so she was more than a visionary, she was a doer."

Steflik's daughter, Bette, said her mother had a knack for drawing people together.

"She saw a need - way before its time, way before any environmental measures were popular to look at the coastlines - and realized that the dunes needed protecting," she said. "She always saw that the children are our future and that they needed to be looked after, and all the things she did in terms of the environment was with that intent."

In additional to her husband, Michael, and her daughter Bette, Steflik is survived by two other daughters, Mechele Conklin and Marianne Irish.

The funeral service is scheduled for 11 a.m. today at First Baptist Church of Bunnell.