Jacquelyn Jeanne "Jackie" Mayer (born August 20, 1942 in Sandusky, Ohio) is a former Miss Ohio and Miss America and currently travels the United States as a motivational speaker, noted for her recovery from a near-fatal stroke suffered at age 28.
Mayer graduated Sandusky High School in 1960, going on to attend Northwestern University where a friend encouraged her to enter the Miss America contest for the scholarship money offered to the winner. S...
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Jacquelyn Jeanne "Jackie" Mayer (born August 20, 1942 in Sandusky, Ohio) is a former Miss Ohio and Miss America and currently travels the United States as a motivational speaker, noted for her recovery from a near-fatal stroke suffered at age 28.
Mayer graduated Sandusky High School in 1960, going on to attend Northwestern University where a friend encouraged her to enter the Miss America contest for the scholarship money offered to the winner. She was crowned Miss Ohio in 1962 which allowed her to enter the Miss America pageant that year. On September 8, 1962, in front of an audience of 30,000 at the Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall and watched by millions more across America, she was crowned Miss America for 1963.
In 1970, Mayer suffered a stroke in the early hours following a Thanksgiving evening with her family. She was rushed to hospital and though surviving, spent the next seven years in rehabilitation needing to re-learn such simple tasks as the alphabet and basic motor functions...
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