Kaye Lani Rae Rafko
Kaye Lani Rae Rafko | |
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![]() Rafko in 2007 | |
Born | (1963-08-26) August 26, 1963 (age 60) Monroe, Michigan, United States |
Occupation | Nurse |
Title | Miss Monroe County 1987 Miss Michigan 1987 Miss America 1988 |
Predecessor | Kellye Cash |
Successor | Gretchen Carlson |
Spouse | Charles Wilson |
Children | 3 (+ 1 deceased) |
Kaye Lani Rae Wilson (née Rafko; born August 26, 1963) is the winner of the 1988 Miss America Pageant. She is from Monroe, Michigan, where a street is now named for her.
Biography
On September 19, 1987, Rafko was named as the Miss America 1988, after winning the Miss Michigan pageant of 1987.[1] In the Miss America competition her platform included help for hospice services and her talent was a Tahitian dancing performance. Rafko has participated in a number of fundraising activities and has been a vocal advocate for nursing and hospice programs. She has addressed medical professional organizations around the world on the topic of nursing, including groups in Malaysia, Paris, Rome, and Singapore.
Rafko is a registered nurse and is married to Charles (Chuck) Wilson. They have three children: Nick, Alana and Joe. Rafko is the executive director of Gabby's Ladder, a bereavement program for children and their families, an organization she founded after the death of her fourth child.[2] Other family included a younger brother, Nick, who played football at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1989 to 1993, and who was killed in a car accident on June 26, 1994.
Rafko is a cohost of Only in Monroe, a monthly public-access television program, which was taken over by Late Show host Stephen Colbert for the July 2015 episode, with Wilson and rapper Eminem appearing as guests.[3] She was also filmed in the 1989 documentary Roger & Me.
References
External links
- Kaye Lani Rae Rafko profile on MissAmerica.org
- Kaye Lani Rae Rafko at IMDb
- Former Miss Michigans
- "After the reign" from The Toledo Blade (2003)
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by | Miss America 1988 | Succeeded by |
Preceded by Kelly Garver | Miss Michigan 1987 | Succeeded by |
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- Margaret Gorman (1921)
- Mary Campbell (1922)
- Mary Campbell (1923)
- Ruth Malcomson (1924)
- Fay Lanphier (1925)
- Norma Smallwood (1926)
- Lois Delander (1927)
- Marian Bergeron (1933)
- Henrietta Leaver (1935)
- Rose Coyle (1936)
- Bette Cooper (1937)
- Marilyn Meseke (1938)
- Patricia Donnelly (1939)
- Frances Marie Burke (1940)
- Rosemary LaPlanche (1941)
- Jo-Carroll Dennison (1942)
- Jean Bartel (1943)
- Venus Ramey (1944)
- Bess Myerson (1945)
- Marilyn Buferd (1946)
- Barbara Jo Walker (1947)
- BeBe Shopp (1948)
- Jacque Mercer (1949)
- Yolande Betbeze (1951)
- Colleen Kay Hutchins (1952)
- Neva Jane Langley (1953)
- Evelyn Margaret Ay (1954)
- Lee Meriwether (1955)
- Sharon Ritchie (1956)
- Marian McKnight (1957)
- Marilyn Van Derbur (1958)
- Mary Ann Mobley (1959)
- Lynda Lee Mead (1960)
- Nancy Fleming (1961)
- Maria Fletcher (1962)
- Jacquelyn Mayer (1963)
- Donna Axum (1964)
- Vonda Kay Van Dyke (1965)
- Deborah Bryant (1966)
- Jane Anne Jayroe (1967)
- Debra Dene Barnes (1968)
- Judith Anne Ford (1969)
- Pamela Eldred (1970)
- Phyllis Ann George (1971)
- Laurie Lea Schaefer (1972)
- Terry Meeuwsen (1973)
- Rebecca Ann King (1974)
- Shirley Cothran (1975)
- Tawny Elaine Godin (1976)
- Dorothy Benham (1977)
- Susan Perkins (1978)
- Kylene Barker (1979)
- Cheryl Prewitt (1980)
- Susan Powell (1981)
- Elizabeth Ward (1982)
- Debra Maffett (1983)
- Vanessa Williams / Suzette Charles (1984)
- Sharlene Wells (1985)
- Susan Akin (1986)
- Kellye Cash (1987)
- Kaye Lani Rae Rafko (1988)
- Gretchen Carlson (1989)
- Debbye Turner (1990)
- Marjorie Judith Vincent (1991)
- Carolyn Suzanne Sapp (1992)
- Leanza Cornett (1993)
- Kimberly Clarice Aiken (1994)
- Heather Whitestone (1995)
- Shawntel Smith (1996)
- Tara Dawn Holland (1997)
- Katherine Shindle (1998)
- Nicole Johnson (1999)
- Heather French (2000)
- Angela Perez Baraquio (2001)
- Katie Harman (2002)
- Erika Harold (2003)
- Ericka Dunlap (2004)
- Deidre Downs (2005)
- Jennifer Berry (2006)
- Lauren Nelson (2007)
- Kirsten Haglund (2008)
- Katie Stam (2009)
- Caressa Cameron (2010)
- Teresa Scanlan (2011)
- Laura Kaeppeler (2012)
- Mallory Hagan (2013)
- Nina Davuluri (2014)
- Kira Kazantsev (2015)
- Betty Cantrell (2016)
- Savvy Shields (2017)
- Cara Mund (2018)
- Nia Franklin (2019)
- Camille Schrier (2020)
- Emma Broyles (2022)
- Grace Stanke (2023)
- Madison Marsh (2024)
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