After 21 Years, Beauty Queen To Pass On Title

After 21 years as the reigning Miss Renton, Kathleen Thompson is looking forward to passing on the title.

The beauty contest in this Seattle suburb was abandoned after Thompson won it in 1975. It’s being revived this year, and the winner will compete in the Miss Washington pageant.

“It’s terrific. I always felt cheated because I didn’t get to pass the crown on,” Thompson said Friday.

She’ll finally get her chance. Ten women have requested applications for the competition, scheduled March 2 at Lindbergh High School.

“We definitely plan to have her there,” executive director Jennifer Griggs said.

Thompson, who was first runnerup for Miss Washington in 1975, helped judge other local pageants and spent three years as a Seattle Seahawks cheerleader. She moved to California seven years ago, where she is a property manager for an office tower in Beverly Hills.

“I think I still have my crown in storage somewhere, if it didn’t get broken,” she said.

“I know my mother still has the gown in one of her cedar boxes.”