Now Reading
Billie Cassandra, Empress 3, helped establish White Rose scholarship

Billie Cassandra, Empress 3, helped establish White Rose scholarship

Bill Burgess – Billie Cassandra, Empress 3 of the Imperial Court of the Rocky Mountain Empire – died Aug. 3. He was 60.

A memorial potluck will be held at noon Sunday, Aug. 28 at the home of Vince Kline, 1776 Garland St., in Lakewood.
Cassandra began her Court career as a candidate for Empress 2 in 1975. She lost to Scottie Carlyle but became princess royale.

Billy Cassandra

Cassandra would capture the crown a year later on April 24, 1976.

She was an ardent supporter of The GLBT Community Center of Colorado and raised thousands of dollars in the name of the Imperial Court.

As empress, Cassandra helped found the Pikes Peak Empire of

Southern Colorado and helped raise enough money to pay for the transportation and lodging of five gay Colorado delegates to travel to New York City to work with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to lobby other Colorado delegates at the Democratic national convention to form a gay rights platform.

She also produced seven court performances of The Wizard of Oz to raise money for the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.

But, perhaps most importantly, it was under her reign that the White Rose Scholarship Fund was established.

Since its inception, the fund has awarded $200,000 in scholarships to Coloradans who are pursuing post high school education.

The Empress’ involvement in the Court did not end with her reign. She went on to be named Mother of the Court of Southern Colorado, a member of the ICREME advisory council and founded the Decade Show to benefit the scholarship.

While living in Denver, Burgess, out of drag, owned and operated the White Rose Flower Shoppe, Billie’s Restaurant at Colfax and Marion, and later cooked at BJ’s Carousel. After attending his high school reunion in Lamar, Burgess decided to return to his home town in 2000.  There he opened another restaurant, Chez DuVall’s.

Donations to the Cassandra scholarship fund may be made through www.GivingFirst.org.  Please stipulate in the instructions that the funds are to be directed for scholarships so that they are released accordingly.

What's Your Reaction?
Excited
2
Happy
2
In Love
3
Not Sure
0
Silly
0
Scroll To Top