written by Ric Galvez
Sylvia Louise Hitchcock-Carson (January 31, 1946 – August 16, 2015)
Sylvia Hitchcock is a country girl who relished life in the south more than anything else. Born to farmer parents in Massachusetts, she adored Florida – the state where she was raised and spent her last days. It is in Florida that she won the Miss Universe 1967 crown although she represented Alabama, the state where she studied, during her Miss USA days.
With her victory at the Miss Universe pageant came the opportunity to live with style and glamor but her passion for the country and the south lingered in her heart. She opted for a simple life and worked in Miami for while as a TV anchor. Despite of her fame and glory, Sylvia is known for her simplicity and she remained humble and grounded.
Her life was shaped with the complexities of the world where she lived in. She grew up in the segregated south but she is known to have black friends especially when she was a member of her high school tennis team. She claims she was a tomboy during her younger years but she grew up to be a demure and attractive lady.
Sylvia represents an era when Miss Universe was more about personality and responsibility. By all accounts, she succeeded in projecting an aura of a welcoming personality and a woman who took her job as Miss Universe seriously. She once said, “Go into it having a good time, but realizing you have a responsibility to yourself and to the public.”
Succumbing to cancer in August 16, 2015, Sylvia left in this physical world with an accomplishment that so few women have achieved. But she refused the limelight. As a country girl who grew up in a farm, Sylvia wanted a simple life. And while it was indeed simple, as Miss Universe 1967, it was a life that is an envy of millions of young women.
