Kaye Lani Rae Rafko Wilson (born August 26, 1963) is the winner of the 1988 Miss America Pageant. She is from

Monroe, Michigan Monroe is the largest city and county seat of Monroe County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Monroe had a population of 20,462 in the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the south by Monroe Charter Township, but the two are administered auton ...

, where a street is now named for her.

Biography

On September 19, 1987, Rafko was named as the Miss America 1988, after winning the Miss Michigan pageant of 1987. In the Miss America competition her platform included help for hospice services and her talent was a Tahitian dancing performance. Rafko has participated in a number of fundraising activities and has been a vocal advocate for nursing and hospice programs. She has addressed medical professional organizations around the world on the topic of

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

, including groups in Malaysia, Paris, Rome, and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. Rafko is a registered nurse and is married to Charles (Chuck) Wilson. They have three children: Nick, Alana and Joe. Rafko is the Executive Director of Gabby's Ladder, a

bereavement Grief is the response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or some living thing that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, grief also has physical, cogniti ...

program for children and their families, an organization she founded after the death of her fourth child. Other family included a younger brother, Nick, who played football at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

from 1989 to 1993, and who was killed in a car accident on June 26, 1994. Rafko is a cohost of ''Only in Monroe'', a monthly

public-access television Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...

program, which was taken over by '' Late Show'' host

Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program '' The Colbert Report'' from 2005 ...

for the July 2015 episode, with Wilson and rapper Eminem appearing as guests.Only In Monroe --- July 2015
/ref> She was also filmed in the 1989 documentary ''

Roger & Me ''Roger & Me'' is a 1989 American documentary film written, produced, directed by, and starring Michael Moore, in his directorial debut. Moore portrays the regional economic impact of General Motors CEO Roger Smith's action of closing several a ...

''.

References

External links

Kaye Lani Rae Rafko profile
on MissAmerica.org *

"After the reign"
from '' The Toledo Blade'' (2003) 1963 births American nurses American women nurses Living people Miss America 1988 delegates Miss America winners People from Monroe, Michigan Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners 20th-century American people 21st-century American women {{US-med-bio-stub