San Francisco, June 8 (RHC)-- In the U.S. state of California, Helen Chavez, an activist who played a crucial role in launching the United Farm Workers of America, has died at the age of 88.  She was the widow of Cesar Chavez, who led the United Farm Workers of America for more than three decades.

In a statement honoring Helen Chavez, U.S. President Barack Obama said: "She managed her union’s finances, prepared meals, marched in picket lines, and was even arrested for her actions, all because she believed in the dignity of America’s farmworkers -- men and women she toiled with in the fields, even as she raised eight children and helped lead a movement."

Helen Chavez died Monday in Bakersfield, California at the age of 88.