Barbara Peterson

Barbara Peterson
Born Barbara Elaine Peterson[1]
(1953-11-25) November 25, 1953[1]
Edina, Minnesota
Other names Barbara Burwell
Barbara Peterson-Burwell
Title

President, Burwell Enterprises, Inc. Miss USA 1976

Miss Minnesota 1976
Spouse(s) Rodney P. Burwell[2]
Children 3[3]
Beauty pageant titleholder
Hair color Brown[4]

Barbara Elaine Peterson Burwell (born November 25, 1953) is a nationally recognized philanthropist and the President of the Burwell Family Foundation based in Bloomington, Minnesota. In 1976, Burwell became the first Miss Minnesota to be crowned Miss USA 1976.

Early life

Born in Edina, Minnesota, to former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Carl Donald Peterson[5] and mother Gretchen Elaine Palen Peterson,[6] Burwell grew up in Edina, Minnesota with four brothers: Todd Douglas, Scott Jeffrey, Craig Donald, Mark Bradley; and one sister, Polly Suzanne.[1]

Education

Burwell attended and graduated from Edina High School and earned a BA from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota with a triple major in political science, communications and American studies.

Miss USA

Burwell won the title of Miss Minnesota USA and represented her state in the 1976 Miss USA pageant broadcast live from Niagara Falls in May that year, winning the title and becoming the first Miss USA from Minnesota in the history of the pageant.[7]

As the official representative of her country to the 1976 Miss Universe pageant in Hong Kong,[8] Burwell would become the first Miss USA titleholder not to advance to the semifinal round of the Miss Universe pageant,[9] which did not happen again until 1999.[10]

Life after Miss USA

In 1987, Burwell and sister Polly Peterson Bowles authored Becoming a Beauty Queen: the Complete Guide, based on their experience with pageants.[11] Burwell was also a judge at the 1990 Miss USA pageant[12] and resides in the Minneapolis metropolitan area.[13]

Burwell was married to businessman Rodney P. Burwell,[2] until his death in 2015, with whom she has three sons: Rodney Peter, Blake Palmer, and Michael Craig,[1] and makes donations to educational and charitable institutions along with her husband through the Rodney and Barbara Burwell Family Foundation.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002". Ancestry.com. Retrieved November 27, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Rod Burwell honored with Entrepreneurial Award" (PDF). moss-barnett.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010. "Rodney P. Burwell". issuu.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  3. ↑ "A fashionable frolic". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. June 15, 2006. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Miss USA eyes following in judge-father's footsteps". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. May 17, 1976. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  5. ↑ "C. Donald Peterson dies at 69; served on state Supreme Court" (PDF). Minneapolis Star-Tribune. December 20, 1987. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  6. ↑ "Gretchen Peterson, dancer and pioneer descendant in a family of well-known names, dies at 79". Minneapolis Star-Tribune. February 6, 2003. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  7. ↑ Goudas, John (May 12, 1977). "1976 Miss U.S.A steps down Saturday after year of travel". Toledo Blade. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  8. ↑ Butterfield, Fox (July 10, 1976). "Hong Kong is agog over beauty pageant". The New York Times. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Las doce finalistas". La Nación. Associated Press. July 11, 1976. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  10. ↑ "10 finalists are named in Miss Universe competition". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. May 27, 1999. Retrieved November 29, 2010. The finalists were from Botswana, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Philippines, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain and Venezuela.
  11. ↑ Sragow, Michael (July 22, 1999). "Here he is: Michael Patrick Jann's beauty-pageant sendup Drop Dead Gorgeous lands the crown". Salon.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Equal opportunity padding to debut at beauty pageant". St. Petersburg Times. Feb 23, 1990. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Barbara Burwell Campaign Contributions and Donations". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  14. ↑ "UND receives donation of $10 million". Grand Forks Herald. October 3, 2009. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
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