Florence Grace Beatty was born December 23, 1924 to James J. Beatty and Mary Budner, both born in Pennsylvania, and residents of Homestead, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The children in the home at the time of the 1930 and 1940 Federal Censuses were Josephine, Elizabeth [Betty], James and Florence.

During World War II, while Florence Grace Beatty was a student nurse at St. Francis Hospital, she was in the U. S. Cadet Nursing Corps.

Florence married Meshach Wilkes. Born in 1905, he died in 1971.

When Florence first applied for a Social Security Card in December 1941, her name was Florence Grace Beatty. In March 1957, her name was changed to Florence Grace Wilkes.

The death of Florence Grace Beatty Wilkes occurred on October 24, 1978. She and her husband are buried at Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Her sister, Elizabeth Beatty, still in Homestead, died in January 1978.