Grace Hospice Foundation

Events

The Grace Hospice Foundation was born from our strong commitment to improve our community. One way in which we do that is through several local events. The Foundation is proud to once again sponsor the 5th Annual Ms. Senior Oklahoma Pageant. This pageant celebrates the lives of senior women in our community. The candidates must all be 55 years of age or older and live in some continuum of care.

Grace Hospice Foundation Crowns Four Winners
in 5^th Annual “Ms. Senior Oklahoma” Pageant

Photo left to right
Ava Caughrean, Executive Director of Grace Hospice
Ruby Bevenue – Miss Long Term Care
Ida “Marie” Cox – Miss Assisted Living
Diana Kay Long – Miss Adult Day Services
Shirley Huff – Miss Independent Living
Carolyn McGhay – Grace Hospice Foundation

The Grace Hospice Foundation is proud to announce the four winners of the 5th Annual Ms. Senior Oklahoma Pageant, who were crowned Saturday, August 28th, 2010. The Pageant celebrates the life and accomplishments of women age 55 and older. The contestants were judged on their stage presence and responses to on-stage interviews. This year, online voting was added allowing people to vote online for one month. The online voting counted for 25% of the score.

The four MSO Queens are as follows:

Independent Living: Shirley Huff, Miss Bethel Manor

Shirley Huff celebrated her 96th birthday in March. This mother of two children enjoys quilting, telling jokes or stories. Originally from McLain, Texas she says her proudest moment was succeeding in her first job in 1935 when jobs were hard to come by. She was traveling to California when their car broke down and while waiting for a bus she struck up a conversation with a gentlemen who told her about a job. Soon she making breakfast each day and that led to her family’s livelihood in the restaurant business for more than 45 years. She has many fond memories of her children and one of her newest memories came recently – shopping with her daughter for her MSO gown.

Assisted Living: Ida “Marie” Cox – Aberdeen Heights

Ida “Marie” Cox will celebrate her 94th birthday in October. She enjoys League bowling, bingo, trivia, word search puzzles and visiting her friends at Aberdeen House. Her fondest memory is her wedding to the man she calls the “love of my life” Jasper Cox, Jr. The marriage lasted 50 years and they renewed their vows for their Golden Anniversary. Her proudest moment was when her son Ronald Eugene was born in 1939.

Long Term Care: Ruby Bevenue – Wildwood

Ruby just celebrated her 82nd birthday on August 25th. This Tulsa native enjoys bingo, crafts, visiting with family and friends and buying clothes & make-up. Her fondest memory is traveling across the United States with her brother when the two of them went on a cruise in San Diego for a convention. Her proudest memory was holding her first baby after she was told that she would never be able to have children.

Adult Day Services: Diana Kay Long – OASIS Adult Day Service - Sapulpa

Diana Kay Long will be 68 years old in December. The Sapulpa native enjoys bowling, word searches and coloring. Her fondest memory is when her children were little and she would call them by their nicknames. Her son was Ricky Tick and her daughter was Mindy Poo. Her proudest moment was when her daughter graduated from OU Pharmacy School.

This year we added a new award – People’s Choice awards – based on online voting.

People’s Choice Award Winners

Independent Living

1st. – Shirley Huff – Ms. Bethel Place
2nd - Marjorie Hughes – Ms. Woodland Terrace
3rd - Bernadene Wilson – Ms. Burgundy Place

Assisted Living

1st - Ida “Marie Cox – Ms. Aberdeen Heights
2nd - Ola Cilio – Ms. Sand Plum
3rd - Avalon Smith – Ms. Green Tree

Long Term Care

Dorothy “Dottie” Jean Crowley – Ms. Cedar Ridge
Dorthene Ward – Ms. Coweta Manor
Mildred Berry – Ms. Southern Hills

Ms. Adult Day Services

Dianna Kay Long – Ms. OASIS – Sapulpa
Dorothy Schmidt – Ms. LIFE Senior Services – Broken Arrow
Louise Lile – Ms. OASIS – Tulsa

“Ms. Senior Oklahoma is about celebrating the lives and appreciating the mind and spirit of these amazing women. The Grace Hospice Foundation is honored to bring this event to the families and our community,” said Carolyn McGhay, Director of The Grace Hospice Foundation.

We would like to thank the following community & media representatives for volunteering their time and talents to the MSO Pageant

LeAnne Taylor - KOTV served as the emcee.

This year’s Celebrity Judges were:

Forrest Cameron – Publisher, Greater Tulsa Reporter Newspapers
Julie Chin – Meteorologist, KJRH
LaToya Silmon – Reporter, KTUL
Joy Jenkins – Senior Editor, Tulsa People Magazine
Rusty McMurray – Host, Senior Class Radio
Ron Terrell – Morning Anchor, KOKI Fox 23

The Community Leaders and Media Celebrities who served as Escorts included:
Justin Wilfon – Morning Anchor, KJRH
Rich Lenz – Morning Anchor, KOTV
Alan Crone – Meteorologist, KOTV
Daniel Cameron – Assistant Publisher, Greater Tulsa Reporter Newspapers
Keith Taylor – Morning Anhor, KTUL

We would like to thank this year’s sponsors for their support: Humana, The Scholl Center for Communication Disorders, LIFE Senior Services and Senior Star Living.

Entertainment was provided by 15 year-old classical piano player Drew Crane and crowd favorite Alice Coe.