Friends of Tally Ho owner Renee Wilkerson remember her for her warm personality, civic involvement and love of her hometown.

Wilkerson, 30, died in a single car accident Thursday night on Alabama 219. She leaves behind her husband, Paul, and daughter, Annese.

The couple operates the Tally Ho Restaurant after purchasing the business in 2013 from her father, Bob Kelley, who had run the iconic Selma restaurant for 33 years.

Local businessman and civic leader Clay Carmichael got to know Renee Wilkerson better after taking a job in the kitchen at Tally Ho many years ago.

“She would come up there and be the ‘hostess with the mostest’ and kind of keep things straight and really took a liking to it,” Carmichael said. “She was always like a little sister — she kept me straight.”

Carmichael eventually left the restaurant business and in the following years helped establish the Blackbelt Benefit Group, a nonprofit organization that assists local charities. Paul Wilkerson is a member of that board. Carmichael said Renee and Tally Ho have been tremendous supporters of the organization’s work in the community.

“Renee has just always been a gung-ho volunteer. She and Paul were always together. They have always been really excited about helping the community with any event, helping out anyway they can. They would give you the shirt off their backs at any moment. Just good people,” Carmichael said.

Renee’s volunteerism and love of Selma was one of the reasons she was selected for the cover of Selma The Magazine’s inaugural “20 Under 40” edition, which spotlights men and women in Dallas County who are making a positive difference for those around them.

“When we began consideration of who would be in the first edition, Renee was an overwhelming choice,” said the magazine’s publisher, Dennis Palmer. “Not only was she chosen to be featured, but we decided she was a logical choice to be on the cover because she had such a passion for her business, her community and for those who live here.”

Robin Woodson is another close friend of Renee’s and said she will remember Wilkerson for her dedication to her family and business.

“She loved her family, her baby and her restaurant. She was such a good mom and very dedicated to our community,” Woodson said.

“If someone came in the restaurant and they were sitting at the bar by themselves, she would always sit down and try to talk to them. She wanted people to feel welcomed.”

Renee Wilkerson was also a past president of the Selma Rotary Club in 2012-2013, according to longtime Selma Rotary Club member Bill Gamble. She joined the club in 2007, following in the steps of her father, a past Alabama Rotarian of the Year and district governor.

“She was one of the only female presidents,” Gamble said. “She was such a good person.”

Wilkerson is survived by her husband and daughter, her father, her mother, Donna; brothers, Mark and Chris Kelley; and sister, Michelle Kelley Burns.

Funeral services will be held Sunday at 2 p.m.at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Steve Burton and Judge Bob Armstrong officiating. Interment will follow in New Live Oak Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to a college scholarship fund for Annese at First Cahawba Bank, P.O. Box 2140, Selma, AL 36702.