Evelyn Margaret Sempier (née Ay; March 8, 1933 – October 18, 2008) was winner of the 1954 Miss America beauty pageant.

Early life

Ay was born the daughter of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

Ephrata, Pennsylvania Ephrata ( ; Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Effridaa'') is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located east of Harrisburg and about west-northwest of Philadelphia and is named after Ephrath, an ancient Israelite town, Bethl ...

Pageantry

She had a short but successful career in smaller

beauty contest A beauty pageant is a competition that has traditionally focused on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. Pageants have now evolved to include inner beauty, with criteria covering judging of personality, intelligence, ...

s. As Miss Ephrata Fair and Tobacco Queen of Lancaster County in 1950, she wore a crown that looked like tobacco leaves. After graduating from Ephrata High School in 1951, she won the titles of Miss Pennsylvania AMVET and the Miss National AMVET in 1952, as well as the

Miss Pennsylvania The Miss Pennsylvania competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Pennsylvania in the Miss America pageant. Pennsylvania, including early years' city representatives, has won the Miss America crown on five occasi ...

title in 1953. She was selected Miss America at the last year before the pageant was televised. In a 1993 interview, "Evvy" said she was surprised at her victories. "That was the ultimate role model, like being Doris Day in real life." She embarked on her career as a favor to a friend who was trying to promote a pageant for the Junior Chamber International (JayCees). She traveled during her yearlong reign, and remained active with the pageant for many years, judging many local pageants and the national Miss America contest in 1981.

Career

Sempier officially introduced the

Nash Metropolitan The Nash Metropolitan is an American automobile that was assembled in England and marketed from 1953 until 1961. It conforms to two classes of vehicle: economy car and subcompact car. In today's US terminology the Metropolitan is a “subcompac ...

at the 1954

Chicago Auto Show The Chicago Auto Show is held annually in February at Chicago's McCormick Place convention center. It is the largest auto show in North America. History Samuel Miles, formerly a promoter of bicycle shows, produced the first "official" Chic ...

."RIP: Evelyn Ay Sempier (1933-2008)"
Torqo.com; retrieved 2009-12-19. She was a spokesperson for

Nash Motors Nash Motors Company was an American automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin from 1916 to 1937. From 1937 to 1954, Nash Motors was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation. Nash production continued from 1954 to 195 ...

in promoting the first American car that was marketed specifically to women. She described her marketing for Nash as the finest among her 40-years of commercial relationships, and the company was "most generous in sponsoring Miss America in many parts of America." Between the 1960s and 1990s, she made frequent appearances as a motivational speaker to women's and business groups.

Personal life

Shortly after passing on the Miss America crown, she married Carl G. Sempier, a Navy veteran and corporate executive on November 13, 1954, and had two children. Carl Sempier died in 2007. Sempier died on October 18, 2008 of colorectal cancer.

Evelyn Ay Sempier Quality of Life Award

The Evelyn Ay Sempier Quality of Life Award was established to honor the 1954 pageant winner. The award was introduced in 1988, and is given to select Miss America contestants involved with the

Children's Miracle Network Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (CMN Hospitals) (French: Réseau Enfants-Santé (RES)) is a nonprofit organization that raises funds for children's hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. Donations support the health of 10 million children each ...

, as well as to "recognize contestants who excel in their commitment to community service"."2009 Evelyn Ay Sempier Quality of Life Award winners announced"
fourpointsmagazine.com, 2009-01-22; retrieved 2009-12-19.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20060108200614/http://www.missamerica.com/our-miss-americas/1950/1954.asp Miss America profile *https://web.archive.org/web/20111002232616/http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fnews-68%2F1224715458172590.xml&storylist=penn Evelyn Ay Sempier, Miss America 1954, dead at 75 (not valid) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sempier, Evelyn Ay 1933 births 2008 deaths American people of German descent Miss America 1950s delegates Miss America winners Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners Nash Motors people Pennsylvania Dutch people People from Ephrata, Pennsylvania Place of death missing 20th-century American people