The Tragic Death Of Miss America Winner Jo-Carroll Dennison

Jo-Carroll Dennison, a.k.a. the oldest living Miss America winner, has died at 97, CNN reported on November 1. The Miss America Organization commemorated the loss on Instagram with a photo carousel of the beauty queen, writing, "We thank her for her year of service and will miss her dearly," linking to her autobiography, "Finding My Little Red Hat" in its bio. A pageant-history standout for serving the title during World War II and for refusing to wear swimsuits for the competition, Dennison was a force to be reckoned with, a sentiment her friend, Evan Mills, echoed. He reflected in an email to CNN that Dennison could "serve as a model for young women — and men — in a world where many are tempted to bend to social expectations rather than trusting and following their own moral compass."

Hailing from Florence, Arizona, Dennison's stage experience first took form when she joined her parents — who were traveling entertainers — on the road. She later settled down in Texas before winning Miss America at 18 in 1942. Speaking on her love for Texas, Dennis told Hays Free Press, "Even now I am invariably introduced as 'a former Miss America.' After the inevitable question 'What year?' comes the question 'What state were you from?' And I answer with a special kind of pride, 'I was Miss Texas.'" 

Of course, Dennison was more than "Miss Texas," leading a life full of advocacy, glamour, and talent. 

After winning Miss America in 1942, Jo-Carroll Dennison tried her hand at acting, and not surprisingly, she nailed that, too. She starred on episodes of "Dick Tracy" and "The Abbott and Costello Show," and appeared in movies including "State Fair" and "Prehistoric Women," to name a few credits. Although Dennison seemed to enjoy how the pageant opened the door for showbusiness, she appreciated how the Miss America Organization eventually shifted direction. "In 1944 they decided it should be education-oriented, and I think that was a huge benefit," she told the Free-Press Enterprise.

Her personal life was busy too, during this time, as she married actor Phil Silvers in 1945, divorcing five years later. "Through Phil I met almost every well-known person in show business," she told Hays Free Press. "Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Harry Cohn, the head of Columbia Pictures, all gave us a wedding party, which was pretty big-time stuff." But the glitz of Hollywood wasn't what Dennison was after long-term. She eventually remarried to Russell Stoneham, had two sons, and settled down in the California town of Idyllwild, where she worked in a hospice. "I feel it was truly the most purposeful, rewarding work I ever did," she explained to Free-Press Enterprise. "Working with the terminally ill, you learn so much about life."

Dennison, a sexual assault survivor, also spoke out on important movements, like #MeToo. "It is stunning how poorly women have been treated in the American culture," she wrote in her book, "Finding My Little Red Hat," per CNN.