News editor
Margene Savage, the 1964 Miss Kansas from Florence who died in a car crash during her reign, was honored at the 2014 Miss Kansas pageant June 7 in Pratt.
Carla Stovall Steckline and Donna Hett, second cousins of Savage, attended this year’s pageant for the recognition.
Savage, 20, was riding in a convertible driven by her mother, Marguerite Savage, nine miles east of Emporia on U.S. 50 when another car turned left in front of the convertible on May 2, 1965. Unable to stop, the convertible went off the road and skidded into another car.
Margene and Marguerite Savage were killed in the crash, as were two people in the other vehicle. Two more were injured.
The Miss Kansas pageant’s vocal award is named in honor of Margene Savage.
Savage, a Kansas State University student, aspired to a singing career and working with gifted children.
The Harvey House Museum in Florence has several pieces of memorabilia from Margene Savage’s pageant career, including her Miss Kansas trophy and a program from the 1964 Miss America pageant she competed in.