Her crowning glory
‘Queen of pageants’ Sylvia Jensen dies at age 101
Sylvia and Harvey Jensen were unarguably the queen and king of the North Royalton pageant guiding their princes and princesses on to bigger and better dreams. Harvey died Nov. 15 and Sylvia on May 13. Submitted photo
NORTH ROYALTON – The community lost a little of its sparkle.
Beloved pageant director and mentor Sylvia Jensen died May 13 at the age of 101.
Though never in a beauty pageant herself, she began directing the Miss North Royalton Community Festival Pageant in 1968 as part of the community’s sesquicentennial celebration and continued every year until 2014, when she bid the role farewell.
Jensen mentored countless girls over those 46 years helping them secure a crown and realize their potential no matter what stage they graced – Miss North Royalton, Miss Ohio, college pursuits, job interviews. Not only did she direct North Royalton’s pageant, but she also directed Miss Greater Cleveland, Miss Cuyahoga County and Cuyahoga County Outstanding Teen, which are preliminaries for Miss Ohio and Miss America.
Jensen had a degree in speech and theater arts, so directing pageants was something she excelled at despite never earning a crown herself.
And there’s no doubt she enjoyed watching her girls succeed in all facets of life.
“I always liked it,” Jensen said in 2011 of pageant work. “I really enjoy working with young people. I’m looking for girls with good reputations, who are respectful, talented and college bound. I want girls to have very high morals. Rest assured that when the girls win, they don’t just have a crown. I make sure they entertain or they work someplace where they are needed. It’s an honor for them to wear that crown whether it’s Miss America, a preliminary or Miss North Royalton.”
And through it all, her late husband Harvey, who passed away Nov. 15, 2016 at the age of 98, was always by her side.
The couple’s pageant family was devastated by the news of her passing, but she touched so many lives her legacy will live on for generations to come.
“Who couldn’t love the spunky, witty, Italian woman who had it all together at the incredible age of 100?” said Tania Harrison, a pageant mom. “When it came to pageants, nobody did them with more class, more knowledge and was ever as respected as Sylvia Jensen. She was the real queen of pageants, the mother to the many queens who held titles under her watch. She knew each one of ‘her winners’ as she called them, which spanned over many decades. We will never forget walking in her home for the first time, and there were literally memorabilia of all her pageant winners all over her family room. We realized then, that when you won a title under Sylvia Jensen, you became more than a beauty queen, you became part of her family.”
Jensen sparked a passion for pageants in Harrison’s daughter Symonne four years ago. Symonne, 10, lovingly referred to Jensen as her “pageant godmother”. Crowned Little Miss North Royalton in 2013, Symonne is currently the city’s reigning Sweetheart. The encouragement Jensen showered her has given her the confidence and drive to move on to bigger stages. She is currently Miss Pre-Teen Ohio for Pure International Pageants and will compete at nationals next month.
“How blessed were we and the many young woman and men who not only held a title but got to hold a piece of Sylvia forever in their hearts because she held a piece of them forever in hers. Sylvia may have passed on but her spirit and memories she built with each of ‘her winners’ will forever live on in so many,” Harrison said.
Erin Simonek, 19, has known Jensen for years, winning Little Miss in 2007, Princess in 2012 and the coveted Miss North Royalton title last year. Simonek has gone on to compete for bigger titles too, even vying for the Miss Ohio crown last year.
She agrees wholeheartedly with Harrison.
“Sylvia has instilled confidence in so many young, successful women, and she has touched so many lives. Not only has she always believed in me through pageants, but she always pushed and guided me into becoming the person I am today,” she said. “If anyone knew Sylvia, they would know she led herself through life trying to touch others, and I view her as one of the most influential women in my life.”
Jensen’s funeral was May 18 at St. Basil the Great Church. She is survived by children Ronald Lee Jensen, Jamie Louis (Gayla) Jensen and Jolene Gail (Scott) McPherson.
Beloved pageant director and mentor Sylvia Jensen died May 13 at the age of 101.
Though never in a beauty pageant herself, she began directing the Miss North Royalton Community Festival Pageant in 1968 as part of the community’s sesquicentennial celebration and continued every year until 2014, when she bid the role farewell.
Jensen mentored countless girls over those 46 years helping them secure a crown and realize their potential no matter what stage they graced – Miss North Royalton, Miss Ohio, college pursuits, job interviews. Not only did she direct North Royalton’s pageant, but she also directed Miss Greater Cleveland, Miss Cuyahoga County and Cuyahoga County Outstanding Teen, which are preliminaries for Miss Ohio and Miss America.
Jensen had a degree in speech and theater arts, so directing pageants was something she excelled at despite never earning a crown herself.
And there’s no doubt she enjoyed watching her girls succeed in all facets of life.
“I always liked it,” Jensen said in 2011 of pageant work. “I really enjoy working with young people. I’m looking for girls with good reputations, who are respectful, talented and college bound. I want girls to have very high morals. Rest assured that when the girls win, they don’t just have a crown. I make sure they entertain or they work someplace where they are needed. It’s an honor for them to wear that crown whether it’s Miss America, a preliminary or Miss North Royalton.”
And through it all, her late husband Harvey, who passed away Nov. 15, 2016 at the age of 98, was always by her side.
The couple’s pageant family was devastated by the news of her passing, but she touched so many lives her legacy will live on for generations to come.
“Who couldn’t love the spunky, witty, Italian woman who had it all together at the incredible age of 100?” said Tania Harrison, a pageant mom. “When it came to pageants, nobody did them with more class, more knowledge and was ever as respected as Sylvia Jensen. She was the real queen of pageants, the mother to the many queens who held titles under her watch. She knew each one of ‘her winners’ as she called them, which spanned over many decades. We will never forget walking in her home for the first time, and there were literally memorabilia of all her pageant winners all over her family room. We realized then, that when you won a title under Sylvia Jensen, you became more than a beauty queen, you became part of her family.”
Jensen sparked a passion for pageants in Harrison’s daughter Symonne four years ago. Symonne, 10, lovingly referred to Jensen as her “pageant godmother”. Crowned Little Miss North Royalton in 2013, Symonne is currently the city’s reigning Sweetheart. The encouragement Jensen showered her has given her the confidence and drive to move on to bigger stages. She is currently Miss Pre-Teen Ohio for Pure International Pageants and will compete at nationals next month.
“How blessed were we and the many young woman and men who not only held a title but got to hold a piece of Sylvia forever in their hearts because she held a piece of them forever in hers. Sylvia may have passed on but her spirit and memories she built with each of ‘her winners’ will forever live on in so many,” Harrison said.
Erin Simonek, 19, has known Jensen for years, winning Little Miss in 2007, Princess in 2012 and the coveted Miss North Royalton title last year. Simonek has gone on to compete for bigger titles too, even vying for the Miss Ohio crown last year.
She agrees wholeheartedly with Harrison.
“Sylvia has instilled confidence in so many young, successful women, and she has touched so many lives. Not only has she always believed in me through pageants, but she always pushed and guided me into becoming the person I am today,” she said. “If anyone knew Sylvia, they would know she led herself through life trying to touch others, and I view her as one of the most influential women in my life.”
Jensen’s funeral was May 18 at St. Basil the Great Church. She is survived by children Ronald Lee Jensen, Jamie Louis (Gayla) Jensen and Jolene Gail (Scott) McPherson.