The dearly departed beauties

In this time of the year when we remember our dearly departed, let’s not forget to also say a prayer for beauty queens, both local and international, who are now likewise with angels Up There.

Funfare is thanking readers and beauty enthusiasts Alexander "Boy" Cruz and Miguelito Herrera of Kapitan Pepe, Cabanatuan City, for furnishing the following list of what they called "our dearly departed beauties."

• Hellevi Rombin, 1955 Miss Universe (from Sweden), the first Scandinavian Miss Universe who died in 1996 along with her second husband, US Sen. G. David Schine, and their eldest son who were piloting their private plane that exploded upon impact at a portion of the L.A. freeway.

• Agnieszka Kotlarska, 1991 Miss International (the first Polish to win the title) who was stabbed to death in 1996 while trying to protect her husband from an assailant who attacked them outside their home in Warsaw.

• Rosemarie Frankland, 1961 Miss World (from the United Kingdom) who was found dead at age 57 on Dec. 8, 2000 (exactly one month after Miss World founder Eric D. Morley died of heart attack) at her L.A. apartment in the exclusive Marina del Ray area, an apparent suicide. When found, she was deemed dead for almost a week. Frankland was the first of three Misses World from the UK. The two others were Helen Morgan (of Wales, 1974, but was soon dethroned for being an unwed mother) and Gina Casandra (with Bermudan ancestry, 1979).

• Josephine Bautista, 1981 Bb. Pilipinas-Maja, of cancer several years ago.

• Maria Teresa Carlson, 1979 Bb. Young Pilipinas, who leaped to her death from a tall condo building in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, in 2001.

• Rio Diaz, 1977 Mutya ng Pilipinas-Asia (and fourth runner-up in the Asia-Pacific Quest that same year), of cancer in 2004.

• Rosario "Chat" Silayan, 1980 Bb. Pilipinas-Universe (and third runner-up in that year’s Miss Universe pageant), of cancer last April.

• Sheila Marie Dizon, 1993 Bb. Pilipinas-International, of aneurysm in 2003.

• Pinky Alberto, 1978 Bb. Pilipinas-International, of cancer late last year.

Carnival Queens

• Pacita delos Reyes Phillips y Ongsiaco, 1929 Miss Philippines, of old age (born on Nov. 14, 1911) in March 2005.

• Anita Noble, 1921 (the first) Miss Philippines Carnival Queen, on Aug. 14, 1979 to complications after surgery for cancer treatment.

• Carmen Papa, 1925 Carnival Queen, at age 64 on June 7, 1970.

• Virginia Llamas, 1922 Carnival Queen, at age 64 on Jan. 9, 1968.

• Mela Fairchild, 1917 Carnival Queen, of cancer in 1967.

• Manolita Barretto, 1916 Carnival Queen, at age 65 on May 25, 1964 of liver ailment.

• Julia Arcea, 1913 Carnival Queen, at age 80 on Nov. 8, 1975.

• Julia Agcaoili, 1909 Carnival Queen, of a rare bone disease on Aug. 8, 1945.

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