# Miss America 1963

Miss America 1963, the 36th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 8, 1962 and was broadcast on CBS.
Eight years later, winner Jacquelyn Mayer of Ohio suffered a near-fatal stroke at age 28. She spent years in rehabilitation, and thereafter dedicated herself to volunteer work with stroke patients.

## Results
### Placements

| Placement | Contestant |
| Miss America 1963 | Ohio – Jacquelyn Mayer |
| 1st Runner-Up | Wisconsin – Joan Mary Engh |
| 2nd Runner-Up | Texas – Pennie Lee Rudd |
| 3rd Runner-Up | South Carolina – Evelyn Keith Ellis |
| 4th Runner-Up | Hawaii – Patricia Lei Anderson |
| Top 10 | Georgia – Katherine Eugenia Cross  Michigan – Carole Jean Van Valin  Mississippi – Charlotte Ann Carroll  Nebraska – Mary Lee Jepsen  Oregon – Martha Louise Wyatt |

### Awards
#### Preliminary awards

| Awards | Contestant |
| Lifestyle and Fitness | Illinois - Pamala Gilbert Michigan - Carole Jean Van Valin Wisconsin - Joan Mary Engh |
| Talent | Hawaii - Patricia Lei Anderson Maryland - Beverly Ann Smith (tie) Nebraska - Mary Lee Jepsen (tie) Mississippi - Charlotte Ann Carroll |

#### Other awards

| Awards | Contestant |
| Miss Congeniality | New Hampshire - Margaret Farrar Wass |
| Non-finalist Talent | Alabama - Patricia Bonner Arizona - Paula Lou Welch Chicago - Donnalyn Freund Iowa - Joleen Wolf New Jersey - Georgia Malick Virginia - Patricia Gaulding |

## Contestants

| State | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes |
| Alabama | Patricia Bonner | Camden | 22 | Classical Vocal, "O luce di Quest Anima" from Linda di Chamounix | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| Alaska | Mary Dee Fox | Anchorage | 18 | Original Modern Skit | | | |
| Arizona | Paula Lou Welch | Tucson | 20 | Fire Baton Twirling | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| Arkansas | Edye Addington | Texarkana | | Vocal Medley, "When I Fall in Love" & "This Can't be Love" | | | |
| California | Pamela Gamble | Carmel | 18 | Classical Jazz Interpretive Dance | | | |
| Canada | Helena "Nina" Marie Holden | Victoria | | | | | |
| Chicago | Donnalyn Freund | Winnetka | 20 | Vocal, "I Enjoy Being a Girl" | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| Colorado | Sally Guinn | Westminster | 18 | Folk Vocal | | | |
| Connecticut | Diane DeMaio | Hartford | 18 | Dramatic Skit | | | |
| Delaware | Alice Jane Watts | Lewes | 19 | Pantomime, "Seventeen" | | | |
| District of Columbia | Ann Verner | Arlington, VA | 19 | Vocal & Guitar, "Country Boy" | | | |
| Florida | Gloria Brody | Jacksonville | 19 | Interpretive Ballet to the theme from Exodus | | | |
| Georgia | Jeannie Cross | Albany | 18 | Jazz Dance | Top 10 | | |
| Hawaii | Patricia Lei Anderson | Honolulu | 19 | Classical Vocal, "Un bel dì vedremo" from Madama Butterfly | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Idaho | Irene May Ammons | Nampa | 23 | Folk Vocal, "The Riddle Song" | | | |
| Illinois | Pamela Gilbert | Carbondale | 21 | Dramatic Reading | | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | |
| Indiana | Julia Flaningan | Lebanon | 20 | Popular Vocal | | | |
| Iowa | Joleen Wolf | Des Moines | 19 | Interpretive Ballet, "Autumn Concerto" from The Four Seasons | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| Kansas | Beverly June Wood | Prairie Village | 18 | Charleston Dance | | | |
| Kentucky | Nanci Bowling | Campbellsville | 21 | Piano | | | |
| Louisiana | Diana Jane Smith | Oak Ridge | 21 | Organ Medley, "Lady of Spain" & "Sabre Dance" | | | |
| Maine | Barbara Jean Orr | Portland | 19 | Vocal, "I Wanna be Loved by You' | | | |
| Maryland | Beverly Ann Smith | Essex | 18 | Organ & Piano, "Warsaw Concerto" | | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Massachusetts | Karen Behn | North Dartmouth | 18 | Dramatic Reading | | | |
| Michigan | Carole Van Valin | Roscommon | 18 | Dramatic Reading, "Joe's Pal" | Top 10 | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | |
| Minnesota | Judith Lerstad | Bloomington | 22 | Alto & Bass Saxophone Medley, "Harlem Nocture", "Misty", & "Hubcaps & Tailgates" | | | |
| Mississippi | Charlotte Ann Carroll | Walthall | 19 | Comedy Song & Dance Routine, "Olive Oyl" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Missouri | Sandra Lyle | Springfield | 19 | Dramatic Reading, "The Potion Scene" from Romeo and Juliet | | | |
| Montana | Marsha Thompson | Bozeman | 21 | Dress Making & Design | | | |
| Nebraska | Mary Lee Jepsen | Papillion | 18 | Fire Baton Twirling, "Ritual Fire Dance" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Nevada | Audrey Chambers | Las Vegas | 19 | Baton Twirling, Fire Baton, & Dance | | | |
| New Hampshire | Margaret Wass | Barrington, RI | 19 | Comedy Routine | | Miss Congeniality | |
| New Jersey | Georgia Malick | Cherry Hill | | Piano, "Deep Purple" | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| New Mexico | Herma Loy Elliot | Portales | 20 | Classical Vocal, "Un Bel Dí" from Madama Butterfly | | | |
| New York | Paula Heins | Le Roy | 19 | Vocal, "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" from The Sound of Music | | | |
| New York City | Margaret Mary Warncke | Flushing | 22 | Vocal, "Mira" from Carnival! | | Special Judges Award | |
| North Carolina | Janice Barron | Morganton | 18 | Piano, "Revolutionary Étude" by Chopin | | | |
| North Dakota | Claudia Revland | Fargo | 19 | Vocal & Guitar | | | |
| Ohio | Jacquelyn Mayer | Sandusky | 20 | Broadway Vignette, "Wishing Upon a Star", "My Favorite Things", & "The White Cliffs of Dover" | Winner | | Suffered a near fatal stroke at the age of 28. |
| Oklahoma | Billi Kay Smith | Stroud | 19 | Dramatic Reading | | | |
| Oregon | Martha Wyatt | Jacksonville | 19 | Interpretive Jazz Dance, "Love Walked In" | Top 10 | | |
| Pennsylvania | Crystale Leigh Martin | Milton | 19 | Dramatic Presentation with Accompaniment on Harp, "The Mad Scene" from Hamlet | | | |
| Rhode Island | Deborah Babbitt | Bristol | 18 | Acrobatic Musical Comedy Dance | | | |
| South Carolina | Evelyn Ellis | Greenville | 19 | Interpretive Dance, "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" & "Gigi" | 3rd runner-up | | Previously South Carolina's Junior Miss 1961 |
| South Dakota | Charlean Fuhrman | Mansfield | 19 | Vocal & Dramatic Act | | | |
| Tennessee | Margaret Petty | Nashville | 19 | Vocal, "Something Wonderful" | | | |
| Texas | Penny Lee Rudd | Waskom | 19 | Jazz Dance, "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" | 2nd runner-up | | |
| Utah | Judith Ann Ridd | Magna | 19 | Modern Interpretive Dance | | | |
| Vermont | Elaine Wright | Burlington | 22 | Display of Fashion Designs | | | |
| Virginia | Patricia Gaulding | Richmond | 19 | Caricature Sketching & Original Comedy Monologue | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| Washington | Susan English | Bellevue | 19 | Dramatic Reading | | | |
| West Virginia | Diane Hunter | Arlington, VA | 20 | Dance & Dramatic Sketch | | | |
| Wisconsin | Joan Engh | La Crosse | 21 | Vocal Comedy, "I'll be Anything You Want Me to Be" | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | |
| Wyoming | Gretchen Stainbrook | Jackson Hole | 19 | Musical Skit | | | |