The first Miss Winston, Marilyn Green, was hired by my future boss to be at Wrangler, Bob Odear, when he was setting up the Winston Racing program at RJR for 1971. Bob later married (and divorced ) Marilyn.
Bob Odear was the gentleman who Humpy Wheeler mistook for Jack Watson at Wrangler. You can see from his 2011 obituary notice in the Princeton Alumni Weekly that Bob Odear was quite the eclectic individual.
Robert M. O'Dear Jr. 59
Published in the Mar. 23, 2011, issue of The Princeton Alumni Weekly
Bob died April 7, 2010, at home in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Bob came to Princeton from University High School in Lexington, Ky. He joined Quadrangle Club but left at the end of sophomore year to assist his family. He graduated from the University of Kentucky and Harvard Business School. He then began an eclectic career in business.
Bob gravitated to Winston-Salem, N.C., where he started out in the cigarette business (he was quick to note that this was before the Surgeon Generals report). He then moved into the hosiery business as a marketing vice president for Leggs. His employment required several moves, and in 1981 he was living in Greensboro, N.C. His marketing expertise led to his involvement in promoting the Winston Cup, a forerunner of NASCAR, and being an early backer of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. At the time of his death he was working on a book about his experiences in this milieu.
Following these more conventional occupations, Bob then started a birding tour company, Observ Bird Tours, leading groups throughout the West to places such as Colorado, Texas, Minnesota, and Manitoba.
Divorced a few years ago, Bob is survived by a son, Robert M. ODear III.
The Class of 1959
After her reign as Miss Winston, Marilyn opened a modeling agency in Greensboro that provided all future Miss Winstons.
Miss Winston: Marilyn Green from Jennifer G. on Vimeo .
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
