Lucile Belen followed in the footsteps of her mother State Legislator Elizabeth Belen dedicating her life to public service while running a hometown business. And like her mother she was often seen wearing a hat in public.

In addition to managing the family’s thriving floral business, Belen’s Flowers, for 60 years, Lucile Belen served on the Lansing City Council from 1955 to 1992. During her Council tenure she was president for five years and shepherded important changes for the City including the expansion of the city limits east and south; the establishment of the Capital Area Transit Authority and the location of Lansing Community College downtown.

Belen also grew the family business which occupied three different locations in Lansing. She was also instrumental in establishing Belen’s School of Floral Design in 1951.

During her lifetime she received numerous awards including the Athena and the Diana Award while serving on the boards of numerous charitable organizations.

She was fond of telling the story of how she organized a group of women to save the trees on the Capitol lawn from being cut down by claiming they would chain themselves to the trees. She was named to the Michigan Women’s Hall of fame in 2001.