Parsons resident Felicia Jones will represent Kansas next week in the national Ms. Senior America contest in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The contest, which began in 1981, is for women aged 60 and older. It is similar to the Miss America contest in that it features various stages of competition. There is an evening gown showing and participants share their chosen talents and philosophies with the judges. An interview is part of the contest. Dr. Terre Quinn of St. Louis, Missouri, was last year’s Ms. Senior America.
Jones, 63, was raised in the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, area and earned a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond, Oklahoma. She and her husband moved to Cherryvale in 2008. They then lived in Independence before moving to Parsons in 2019. Her husband is a retired social worker for the Oklahoma Department of Human Resources.
She said in her teen years she participated in pageants, including the Miss Oklahoma contest when she was 18 and the Miss Black Oklahoma when she was 20. Her daughters knew of this history and one suggested that she try out for the Ms. Senior America pageant.
Jones was one of four women competing in Kansas in August and she was the winner, giving her the right to represent Kansas in the national pageant.
Jones has played piano since age 5 and learned tap dancing at age 9. She was a classical pianist and her talent won her a small scholarship toward college. She also taught piano for a time. She chose tap dance as her talent for the judges in New Jersey next week.
To prepare, she took a refresher course through R’&S Studios in Independence. Jones said she plans to tap dance to “Singing in the Rain,” the theme song of the Gene Kelly movie of the same title. She plans to use an umbrella in her performance as Kelly does in the film.
Jones said 46 women will represent their states at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City next week. The week includes a tour of Atlantic City in addition to the competitions. After the gown and talent competitions and interviews, judges will eliminate contestants and eventually reduce the number to five. From these five, the judges choose Ms. Senior America and four runners-up.
She said her goal is to share a message with the judges next week.
“I want to be a representative for older women to prove that just because you get to be a certain age doesn’t mean your life is over. It’s not like we were 100 years ago sitting in our rocking chair with a shawl on and our hair pulled back. We have goals. We have hopes. We have dreams. We have talent. We have things to share with the world.
“And for me, my platform is breast cancer. I’m a breast cancer survivor. I had breast cancer 14 years ago, a mastectomy, treatment and all that. So I would like to reach out to women that have breast cancer and help them with their breast cancer journey,” Jones said.
She said she started a breast cancer support group in Independence when she lived there and is considering starting such a group in the Parsons area.
She wrote a book about her cancer called “Felicia’s Journey.” She is looking for a publisher.
Jones said she looks forward to the trip, including the Gatsby Ball, which she and her husband plan to attend dressed in 1920’s attire.
“That’s going to be a lot of fun.”
She said she feels confident about her chances in the pageant.
“Some of those ladies are really good,” she said, noting that some carry their age well.
The winner will represent the pageant at appearances across the country.
