For more than 70 years Joan Wilkes coached figure skating in North Bay. On the weekend her children, friends and many of former skaters were on hand for a special dedication at Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens

For Joan Wilkes Memorial Gardens (now Boart Longyear Memorial Gardens) was her home away from home. Now the building will host a permanent tribute to the skating legend who died at age 94 in 2024. Article content

Part of the building was dedicated to Wilkes at a Saturday morning part celebration and part dedication. Article content Article content

When the Gardens opened in 1955 Wilkes had already been a figure skating coach for several years after retiring from competitive skating in 1948. She coached hundreds of skaters into the early 2020s, even coaching after she donned h

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