Former Rye resident Dorothy Ohlsen, currently residing at Bonaventure of Pueblo, was named Pueblo’s 2023 Silver Queen on September 14.
Ohlsen, a young 98-year-old, has led an interesting and astounding life. She was born in Kansas on the family farm as her birth progressed too quickly to make it to the hospital. This welleducated lady received a Bachelor's Degree in special education, before becoming a ‘domestic engineer’.
She and her husband, Robert, were married for 74 years. He was an educator and a professor, and they moved frequently. Dorothy worked as a secretary during this time.
Dorothy and Robert have three children, seven grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
“All my kids are successful,” Dorothy proudly said.
Dorothy was a long-time Greenhorn Valley resident and very active in the community.
She started a ladies’ group at the Colorado City Community Church that made lap robes for people to help warm their laps and legs while sitting outdoors or traveling.
She also started a group that gathered clothes families no longer needed and donated them to Cooperative Care.
She continued her philanthropies in her current residence in which she led the charge for the Christmas Shoebox program for Bonaventure.
Other winners in the contest were Ms. Congeniality Sally Castillo, 68, of The Trinidad Inn, who learned how to walk, talk, eat, and live again after being paralyzed from COVID-19, and First Runner-Up Charlotte Garnett, 78, of Chateau at Sharmar, who was a biology teacher at South High School in Pueblo for more than 30 years, was a cofounder of the Le Leche League of Pueblo and an advocate for the Alzheimer's Association.
Mandi Fuller, Activities Coordinator at Bonaventure of Pueblo, nominated Ohlsen for the 2023 Silver Queen.
The Sangre de Cristo Hospice & Palliative Care is proud to sponsor the Colorado State Fair Silver Queen Pageant and happy to continue this important event in the community. They are excited to recognize the lives and talents of some of Pueblo’s most deserving ladies during the annual Silver Queen Pageant.
In this 49th year of the Silver Queen Contest, 27 of Southern Colorado’s grandest dames vied for the title of Colorado’s Silver Queen. The contest is open to hopefuls ages 60 and over, with contestants nominated by staff and administrators of local skilled nursing and assisted living facilities.
2023 Silver Queen sponsors were; Visiting Angels, Senior Resource Development Agency (SRDA), HUB International, AIS Medicare & More, Mobile Record Shredders, Southwest Motors, Mark Gregory State Farm Insurance, Schuster’s Printing, Dignity Memorial, Pueblo Bank and Trust, and Vectra Bank of Colorado.