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Connie Rastberger says she is not an early riser. Her days typically start at 7:30 a.m. and end at about 10 p.m. – and the word “nap” isn’t part of her vocabulary.
“Oh, heavens no,” 78-year-old Rastberger says of taking a daily nap. “I don’t have time for that. I might miss something. I’m always ready to try something else.”
She is a proud mother, grandmother and great-grandmother – and beauty queen. Rastberger has lived at The Groves in Independence for almost four years.
This was the first year that The Groves had entered a contestant in the Ms. Missouri Nursing Home Pageant competition – and in its first year of entering, The Groves brought home a winner in Rastberger.
Rastberger is a modern day rags-to-riches story. From her humble beginnings in a Texas orphanage to her first marriage and motherhood by age 16 to her recent crowning as queen in a pageant, Rastberger has lived a full life in her seven decades – and she’s already looking forward to the century mark.
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Rastberger was 2 years old when she was left at an orphanage in Texas. She was raised by nuns and never knew her biological family, but she says the orphanage was “like one big, happy family.”
Rastberger grew up at an early age. By age 15, she had completed her schooling and had married her first husband. By age 18, she had given birth to her three children.
When it came time to provide a financial living for her family, Rastberger sought work as a beauty consultant and cosmetics saleswoman at a department store. She remembers the store officials telling her that she had no experience, to which Rastberger replied, “Look at my makeup. I promise you that I’ll be a good salesperson.”
She remained in the industry for nearly 30 years, winning several trips to New York for her high sales with Macy’s. Rastberger helped customers choose the makeup that looked best on them and gave them makeovers. The people, she says, were her favorite part of the job.
Rastberger grew up without a mother figure to show her how to use makeup or to play dress-up with her. The nuns never wore makeup, she says, and Rastberger probably first wore makeup at age 18.
“And I liked it,” she says, laughing. “I thought it gave me some color and made me look prettier.”
Rastberger’s cheeks are rosy from blush, her eyelids highlighted with soft colors of eye shadow. She is wearing her pageant crown and sash that reads “Nursing Home” in gold letters. Her neatly manicured hands are clasped in her lap.
Connie Rastberger says she is not an early riser. Her days typically start at 7:30 a.m. and end at about 10 p.m. – and the word “nap” isn’t part of her vocabulary.
“Oh, heavens no,” 78-year-old Rastberger says of taking a daily nap. “I don’t have time for that. I might miss something. I’m always ready to try something else.”
She is a proud mother, grandmother and great-grandmother – and beauty queen. Rastberger has lived at The Groves in Independence for almost four years.
This was the first year that The Groves had entered a contestant in the Ms. Missouri Nursing Home Pageant competition – and in its first year of entering, The Groves brought home a winner in Rastberger.
Rastberger is a modern day rags-to-riches story. From her humble beginnings in a Texas orphanage to her first marriage and motherhood by age 16 to her recent crowning as queen in a pageant, Rastberger has lived a full life in her seven decades – and she’s already looking forward to the century mark.
–––
Rastberger was 2 years old when she was left at an orphanage in Texas. She was raised by nuns and never knew her biological family, but she says the orphanage was “like one big, happy family.”
Rastberger grew up at an early age. By age 15, she had completed her schooling and had married her first husband. By age 18, she had given birth to her three children.
When it came time to provide a financial living for her family, Rastberger sought work as a beauty consultant and cosmetics saleswoman at a department store. She remembers the store officials telling her that she had no experience, to which Rastberger replied, “Look at my makeup. I promise you that I’ll be a good salesperson.”
She remained in the industry for nearly 30 years, winning several trips to New York for her high sales with Macy’s. Rastberger helped customers choose the makeup that looked best on them and gave them makeovers. The people, she says, were her favorite part of the job.
Rastberger grew up without a mother figure to show her how to use makeup or to play dress-up with her. The nuns never wore makeup, she says, and Rastberger probably first wore makeup at age 18.
“And I liked it,” she says, laughing. “I thought it gave me some color and made me look prettier.”
Rastberger’s cheeks are rosy from blush, her eyelids highlighted with soft colors of eye shadow. She is wearing her pageant crown and sash that reads “Nursing Home” in gold letters. Her neatly manicured hands are clasped in her lap.
She lives on the third floor of Rosewood Health and Rehab at The Groves. It was only appropriate that Rastberger met for an interview on the third-floor activity room – she is rarely in her room.
Her daily responsibilities are endless: She delivers The Kansas City Star and The Examiner, along with the mail, to third-floor residents. She makes coffee for residents in the activity room. Every day, she pushes a cart filled with powdered doughnuts, candy and soda pop down the hallways, selling to residents and staff members. On Fridays, she takes the cart to the other Rosewood floors and even to another building.
For three years, Rastberger has walked three miles in the Kansas City Metro Memory Walk to end Alzheimer’s disease. She walks two miles after dinner each day.
Rastberger cannot remember the last time she was sick while living at The Groves.
She tends to the third-floor rabbit, Gumdrop, and parakeets, Lucy and Homer. She makes beauty shop appointments for the other female residents.
Sharon Johnson, who has worked as the third-floor activity coordinator for 26 years, says she and Rastberger immediately bonded when they first met. At age 62, Johnson calls Rastberger “Mother,” and Rastberger calls her “Daughter.”
“Anything I ask her to do, she’s right there to help me,” Johnson says. “She is just always involved, wanting to help do anything – and she always has since she came here. I hope I can age just as gracefully as she is.”
Rastberger’s life motto is “No rocker for me.”
“I don’t have time to sit around and just rock around,” she says.
Johnson laughs. “Maybe dance around, but not rock around.”
“That’s more like it,” Rastberger replies.
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She had done some modeling at boutiques throughout her life, but Rastberger had no previous pageant experience. The Missouri Health Care Association sponsors the annual Ms. Missouri Nursing Home Pageant, and each association district hosts a preliminary competition for its area. Those winners, such as Rastberger, will compete at the state pageant Aug. 24 in Branson, Mo.
Seven women, including Rastberger, competed for the District 1 queen title on June 30. (Nancy Fantroy of the Maywood Terrace Living Center in Independence got runner-up.) Contestants are judged on criteria like personality, spryness and life activities prior to and while now living in a care center.
“There were so many beautiful ladies there, and they were all just so nice,” she says. “I didn’t think I stood a chance, but I thought, ‘Well, we’ll just see.’ They were all very sweet little ladies.”
When Rastberger heard her name called as the name queen, she was left in shock. She looked down at Johnson and saw her crying.
“Of course, I floated around afterward for several days,” Rastberger says. “I just couldn’t believe it.”
But even with a crown on her head, Rastberger remains humble, washing the dishes in the third-floor activity room.
Mary Lou Marriott, a resident at The Groves and one of Rastberger’s close friends, says she told Rastberger she would win the competition before she went.
“She just bends over backward to help anyone who needs help,” Marriott says. “She is a very caring person, and we just kind of bonded from the very first meeting.”
Pageants are typically associated with beauty, so what is it about Rastberger that makes her so beautiful?
“Everything,” Marriott says. “She has a gorgeous smile. Her spirit is beautiful. She’s just so pretty, inside and out.”
Recently, Rastberger found a small stuffed animal on the “freebies table” at The Groves and immediately thought of a female resident who would love the toy. She’s always thinking of others, says Barbara Overmann, activity manager at The Groves.
“She sends the kind of message that even if you’re in a care center, you can still have a full and active life with many friends and many activities – and responsibilities,” Overmann says.
The expectations at the statewide competition next month are a mystery for Rastberger, but she’s keeping her sense of humor at the forefront.
“I hope they don’t ask me to sing ‘cause I can’t carry a tune,” she says, straight-faced. Johnson is giggling in the background. “I can dance.”
Rastberger says she is not afraid of aging, and she is aiming to reach her 100th birthday in 2032.
“Just live, you know. Just live, and make the best of it,” she says. “You’re never too old. What is there to be afraid of? Our Lord loves us.”
