In memory of Oleda Baker DiMeola — A voice of the Tribune since 2010
She passed away on March 21, 2026, at 91 years old. Her name was Oleda Baker DiMeola — and if you’ve been reading the Boca Raton Tribune since our earliest days, you know exactly who I’m talking about.
Oleda was one of our first columnists. From the very beginning, in 2010, she contributed her column Oleda Talks — a window into beauty, wellness, and the kind of aging that refuses to apologize for itself. She wrote with experience, authority, and a warmth that came from a life fully lived.
She had been a high fashion model in New York City — one of the first with the legendary Wilhelmina Agency. She authored ten books on beauty published by major houses like Prentice-Hall and Doubleday. She founded her own company, Oleda and Company, Inc., in 1972. She taught makeup techniques to women leaving New York’s prison system. She appeared on a pre-fame Oprah Winfrey’s show, where she told Oprah — with the calm confidence that defined her — “Oprah, you’re hiding your beauty.” At 38, with no prior experience, she picked up a paintbrush and became a self-taught artist who exhibited in museums.
And in the middle of all of that, she found time to write for us.
For a newspaper launched on January 15, 2010, with the belief that community journalism still matters, Oleda was exactly the kind of voice we needed. She wasn’t chasing trends. She was sharing wisdom. There’s a difference — and our readers felt it.
Boca Raton has been shaped by people who chose to plant roots here and give back. Oleda was one of them. Her column brought readers something rare: practical insight wrapped in genuine care. She believed that beauty — real beauty — was something every person already carried. She just helped you find it.
In the coming weeks, the Tribune will republish Oleda’s original columns as a tribute. Read them. Not as nostalgia, but as guidance from a woman who knew a thing or two about living well. https://www.bocaratontribune.com/bocaratonnews/category/columnists/oleda-taks/
People who knew her often said she was beautiful — and then quickly added: inside and out. That was the truest thing anyone could say. My wife Dini and I had the pleasure of knowing Oleda and Richard personally, and I can tell you: they were inseparable. Seeing them together, you understood that a life well-lived isn’t just about what you accomplish — it’s about who you choose to walk alongside. Those moments we shared with them are ones we will always carry with us.
Our deepest condolences to her husband Richard, her son David, her stepchildren, and her grandchildren. Boca Raton lost a quietly extraordinary person.
Rest well, Oleda. The words remain.
Related
