District III Commissioner Donie Lee was pleased to, with the help of Mayor Danise “DeeDee” Henriquez, unveil the portrait of his great aunt Mary Lee Graham in City Hall.

“She played an important role in our history," he said, "and it's important to represent our history here. And it’s appropriate that we acknowledge her during Women’s History Month.”

Graham served as a city commissioner beginning in 1977, and she was a trail blazer on many fronts.

The owner of Lee’s Orient Restaurant, she served as the first woman president of the Key West Chamber of Commerce in the 1950s.

Members of the Greater Key West Chamber of Commerce, including President Amber Shaffer and Executive Director Kerry Baker attended the unveiling.

Graham was a charter member of Old Island Restoration Foundation and was instrumental in saving the Armory and West Martello Tower. 

Nance Frank, President of the Old Island Restoration Foundation, remembered the influence and the passion of Graham when the organization was founded.

Graham held dozens of leadership positions including the President of the Key West Garden Club. In 1956 she was recognized as the first local woman to be named a Florida Woman of Distinction. She was also the first woman to serve on the planning and restoration board in 1971.

In 1972 she was appointed by the governor to the Key West Historic Preservation Board. In addition, she for over a decade she served on the Monroe County Library Board. She received the American Legion’s Outstanding Citizen of Monroe County in 1956, as well as a number of other civic recognitions.

Graham was the first woman recognized for outstanding service by the Florida Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in 1977.