Tom's River Beauty Queen, Sandra Fortunato, formally known as "Miss Liberty," died at 75.
Fortunato died Thursday Morning at Community Medical Center, according to her husband, John Ogden.
Fortunato was battling cancer in her eye as well as dealing with Bell's Palsy for the last year. Fortunato had lost her left eye, and due to the financials of her illness, Fortunato had also lost her home.
Fortunato was someone that everyone knew well and loved in the Toms River area. It was almost as if she was New Jersey had their very own Kardashian.
She always had a hand in many events, such as high school graduation, professional sports games, and other events around the Garden State. She had also stepped in to help with charities and meet with celebrities who had visited the state over the years.
Chances are, if you live in the Garden State full-time or even part-time, you have most likely seen her car with cardboard signs all over it.
Fortunato first gained her popularity in the 1970s when she began attending many public events such as New York Giants games, New York Jets Games, and even baseball games. Crowds went wild upon seeing her in her crown, dress, and made-up signs that she carried around with her. She was a regular at most of the games she had attended.
Since then, she has been a fixture in the Toms River Area and an icon to the state of New Jersey.
Even with her illness, Fortunato continued to make appearances wherever she went. Her last appearance was in The Toms River Halloween Parade.
Her funeral services, according to her family, will be private.
Her husband, John Ogden, has also requested a parade and hold a permit on April 19 in the Spring in her honor to give away the many signs she had collected over the years for free.
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