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Sempier, of Malvern, died Saturday of colorectal cancer, said her daughter, Stacy Sempier.
Evelyn Ay, born in Ephrata to German immigrants, was a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania when she won the state title and then the national pageant's swimsuit competition and crown.
She was the last Miss America to be crowned before the pageant was televised, and her win resulted in a townwide celebration the likes of which Ephrata had never seen, according to newspaper archives. Nearly 65,000 people turned out for Ay's homecoming festivities in Ephrata, she was given the key to the borough and made honorary mayor — and the Ephrata post office was swamped with fan letters for the beauty queen.
Prior to winning the Miss America title in September 1953, Ay had a short but successful career in smaller pageants, according to newspaper records. She was named Miss Ephrata Fair and Tobacco Queen of Lancaster County in 1950 (a contest in which her crown was fashioned to look like tobacco leaves), then, after graduating from Ephrata High School in 1951, won the titles of Miss Pennsylvania AMVET and Miss National AMVET in 1952 before winning the Miss Pennsylvania title in 1953 and embarking on the road to the national contest in Atlantic City, N.J.
That national contest, Evelyn Ay Sempier said in 1993, was one she never expected to win.
Visiting Ephrata for the 40th anniversary of her Miss America win, she said she entered simply to help a friend who was trying to put a pageant together for the Ephrata Jaycees. She was surprised to win that contest and surprised again to win the Miss Pennsylvania title.
Miss America just seemed way out of reach.
"That was the ultimate role model, like being Doris Day in real life," she said in a 1993 interview."I was there to be a really good Miss Pennsylvania. After Pennsylvania won the best state float, I said, 'We should go home while we're ahead.' "
But victory was in the cards for "Evvy," as Ephrata knew her, and the next year of her life was a whirlwind of public appearances and international travel. She logged 270,000 miles during her yearlong reign, according to newspaper records.
She remained active with the pageant for many years, judging many local pageants and the national Miss America contest in 1981, her daughter said.
"She really believed in not just the beauty pageant aspect, but that the scholarship and opportunity for women was something to be supported," Stacy Sempier said.
After giving up the crown at the end of 1954, Ay married Carl G. Sempier, a Navy veteran and corporate executive who died in January 2007, her daughter said.
Her wedding was cause for another outpouring of the nation's affection, according to newspaper reports, as the young bride received gifts and messages from across the country.
Over the course of the 1960s, '70s, '80s and '90s, she made frequent appearances as a motivational speaker to women's and business groups. She also did volunteer work at Paoli Hospital.
But she never lost touch with her Lancaster County roots and made frequent visits to her hometown.
(161) (3) (3) (2)"This area is still a giving, caring place," she said during a visit to Ephrata in 1998. "I am glad I had the pleasure of growing up here. I think there were certain things in my life that I learned in Ephrata that have impacted my life forever."
