Jo-Carroll Dennison, the longest-serving Miss America, has died at the age of 97. As reported, she died at her home in California.
She won the title during World War II. She broke a provision when she refused to wear a swimsuit on stage after being crowned. The Miss America organization is saddened by Denison's death, and also thanked her for her service of the year on Instagram.
Denison, born in 1923 in Florence, Arizona, competed in the Miss Tyler pageant in Tyler, Texas. She was also trained as a scout.
After winning the pageant, she claimed the titles of Miss East Texas and Miss Texas before participating in the Miss America pageant in 1942 at the age of 18. But she did not win the swimsuit category. Dennison later declined to wear a bathing suit during her long year as Miss America.
Speaking at the competition's 100th anniversary earlier this year, she praised the Miss America organization for scrapping the 2018 swimsuit and focusing on each candidate's totality.
