Cleo Niki Maletis was a Canadian-born American beauty pageant titleholder. She was crowned the 19th Mrs. America

Mrs. America

Mrs. America Pageant honors married women throughout the United States of America. Each of the 51 contestants , ranging in age from the 20s to 50s, earns the right to participate in the national event by winning her state competition. These state events are under the direction of Mrs. America state...

 in the Mrs. America Pageant of 1957.

Life and family

Maletis was born to Greek immigrant parents Thomas and Pagoula "Peggy" Michas and grew up in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. She went on to receive her B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from the University of Washington

University of Washington

University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

 in home economics

Home Economics

Home economics is the profession and field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community...

, graduating in 1946. One year later on June 28, 1947 Cleo was married to Chris C. Maletis, Jr. in Vancouver. After becoming a U.S. citizen, the couple moved to Portland

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, where her husband had grown up. She became the mother of four boys: Chris Maletis, III (born 1948), Tom Maletis (born 1951), Ed Maletis (born 1954), and Rob Maletis (born 1957).

While pregnant with her youngest son Rob, she became "Mrs. America 1957" while visiting numerous European countries as an honorary ambassador. During this time, Maletis became interested in the growing trend of working mothers in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, praising the Danish nurseries that allowed for both parents to work; a trend not yet realized for 1957 suburban Portland. After retiring her crown to Linwood Findley, Maletis went to work for her husband's family beverage distributing business, Maletis, Inc., which in 1993 became Maletis Beverage and Columbia Distributing, the former now run by son Rob Maletis and latter by son Ed Maletis.

Death

Maletis suffered from Alzheimers Disease since 2002 and died on November 9, 2009 in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

surrounded by her family. She stated that her proudest achievement in life was in raising four sons and 10 grandchildren all within the same city. She was 84.