Elaine Schwindt was crowned Ms. Missouri Nursing Home 2019 on Monday during the annual statewide pageant sponsored by Missouri Health Care Association (MHCA).

Ms. Schwindt, 87, is a resident of Pleasant View in Rock Port, Missouri. She was among the seven ladies from skilled nursing homes across Missouri who shared stories about their family, career, hobbies and community service accomplishments during the pageant at the Branson Convention Center in Branson.

The pageant was held during the 71st Annual Missouri Health Care Association Convention. MHCA member facilities are divided into seven districts. Each district held its own pageant earlier this summer, with each winning queen receiving the opportunity to compete in the statewide competition. Ms. Schwindt was the District 2 Ms. Nursing Home winner.

Family members came to support their mothers and grandmothers as they told personal pieces of history and life lessons. “She’s never been one to take on the limelight. She’s always put everybody else before herself. She’s always the one to step back and let the spotlight be on her family,” said Susan Hamersky, Elaine’s daughter.

Ms. Schwindt started out early in life as a caregiver, taking active involvement in caring for her five brothers due to her mother’s health issues.

During and after high school, she worked as a clerk at Woolworth’s and as a bookkeeper for an accounting firm in Lincoln, Nebraska. She married her high school sweetheart, Johnny, at the age of 19 in Corona, California. Her husband served in the Navy during the Korean War.

Her first child was born in California. After her husband returned from Japan, the couple’s second child was born. They returned to their hometown of Lincoln, where they had four more children.

“We spent 44 HAPPY years together,” Ms. Schwindt wrote in her pageant application. “When our children were born, I became a stay-at-home mom and put my bookkeeping prowess to the test while raising our six children on a single income.” Today, she has 12 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

She is a huge Nebraska Husker fan.

“I enjoy the ribbing about my red, light up “N” from the Mizzou fans around the facility.  I also enjoy playing Bingo, trying new activities and crafts and walking laps around the facility while stopping to vising everyone,” she wrote. “We do have a lot of fun at Pleasant View.”

Ms. Schwindt is competitive and enjoys playing games, especially winning! She also enjoys baking, especially her Runza casserole. It’s a Christmas family tradition that continues to be passed down through generations.

“I have been through quite a lot, but I keep on smiling,” Ms. Schwindt wrote. “My goal is to be happy wherever I am. And most of all, to keep busy!”