Fresno Realtor Helen Smades remembered as a pioneer for women in her community

A longtime Fresno Realtor is being remembered as a trailblazer for women.

Helen Smades worked for 67 years in real estate and was one of the first women to break into the business in Fresno. She became a broker in 1956 and opened her own office, Helen Smades Real Estate, within a year.

Smades, whose career and service to the community were filled with honors and awards, died Feb. 24 at the age of 94.

“Helen paved the way for women in leadership during a time women were not expected to do so,” the Fresno Chamber of Commerce posted in a Facebook tribute.

She was born Sept. 20, 1927, to Ella and Peter Joseph Lesmeister in Portland, Oregon. Her family relocated to Klamath Falls, Oregon, where she attended Sacred Heart Academy for 12 years.

Starting at a young age, she worked a multitude of jobs from babysitting to housekeeping in the eighth grade, to a summer in a secretarial position at The Pullman Co. in San Francisco.

After graduating high school, she moved to Fresno in May 1945 to attend Fresno State. She quickly fell in love with the vibrancy of the city and the people living there.

While attending Pieper’s Dancing School, she met dance partner and future husband Harold Smades. The two were married in December 1946. After having her first child, Kathi, Smades got her real estate license in 1953 and established Helen Smades Realtor in 1957. She was the youngest of 11 women Realtors in the Fresno area.

Smades had three more daughters, Debbie, Patti and Cindy. In 1961, she became a single mother after the death of her husband. In 1964, she married Bob Klein Sr., Fresno’s first city manager. The two were married for 25 years until he died in 1988.

In 1994, she sold her business to London Properties but remained active until the end of her career.

Pioneer, dedication

Throughout her life, Smades remained a key leader and lover of her community.

She was a lifelong supporter of Fresno State, a charter member of the Pinnacle Society, served on the Foundation Board of Governors, founded the President’s Circle of Excellence Fund, founded and chaired the Craig School of Business Advisory Council, and was honored as Business Person of the Year among many more honors.

Smades became Fresno’s first woman president of the Chamber of Commerce, first woman recipient of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce Leon S. Peters Award, the first woman chair of the Saint Agnes Medical Center Foundation Board, Governor’s Appointee to the California Small Business Advisory Board and the first woman appointed to the California Chamber of Commerce Board.

Retired Fresno Judge Robert Oliver, a longtime friend, described her as a mentor, and a devoted community member and mother.

“To do the things she did, from raising a family as a single mom to being a successful Realtor and being part of all the community activities, She was resolute and determined,” Oliver said. “She cared about her community and was a contributor. She lived with a heart of gratitude.”

Helen Smades

Born: Sept. 20, 1927

Died: Feb. 24, 2022

Residence: Fresno

Survivors: Daughters Kathi Hintz, Debbie Henes, Patti Hutchins and Cindy Smades; grandchildren Heather Wyatt, Ryan Hintz, Brett Henes, Tiffany Henes, Brittni Hutchins, Parker Hutchins and Taylor Hutchins; and great-grandchildren Farrah, Hunter, Hudson, Tyler and Turner and baby Hutchins arriving any day. She was predeceased by her husbands Harold Smades and Bob Klein Sr.; her sister, Dorothy; son-in-law Cliff Henes; and grandson Barrett Forrest.

Services: A funeral Mass is 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 5770 N. Maroa Ave. Instead of flowers, the family requests donations be made in her memory to CSU Fresno Foundation (Helen Smades Memorial Fund), Saint Agnes Medical Center, and Valley Children’s Healthcare Foundation (Barrett’s Drowning Prevention Fund).

This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM.