Jacque Mercer Collection

Jacque Joy Mercer (1931-1982), model and winner of the 1949 Miss America Pageant, was raised by her schoolteacher parents on a ranch at Litchfield, Arizona. She attended North Phoenix High School and was in her freshman year at Phoenix College when she was crowned Miss America on September 11, 1949. Her national tour as Miss America included endorsements and promotions for Catalina swimwear and Lane cedar chests. On December 29, 1949 she violated her contract with her Miss America sponsors and married her high school sweetheart, Douglas Cook. Late in 1950, Mercer filed for divorce and entered the University of Arizona. She later transferred to Mexico City College. In the fall of 1952 she transferred to Arizona State College at Tempe and married ASC football star Dick Curran in May of 1953. Mercer appeared in a number of television commercials and performed in eight plays at the Sombrero Playhouse. She eventually raised two children and worked as a partner in her husband's advertising agency, the Curran Company.