Seniors relive prom night at historic Las Vegas school

There are senior proms, and then there are proms for seniors.

On June 23, Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada honored the more mature with a prom featuring the theme By the Light of the Silvery Moon.

The auditorium of the Historic Fifth Street School downtown, 401 S. Fourth St., was transformed with black table linens, gold lamé balloons and sprinkled star confetti.

Senior Companion Program, part of Catholic Charities, hosted the event, a chance for seniors to reminisce about their own proms or attend the prom they missed in their youth.

The Starlight Quartet with vocalist Erik Moore provided the music. As Moore launched into "I've Got You Under My Skin," Millie Caruso, decked out in a shimmering royal blue dress, took to the dance floor with Nicolas Balli. Others followed suit.

One table was for queens of the Ms. Senior Nevada pageants and included Dorothy Guralnik, who was the first Ms. Senior Nevada in 1986, 2002's Marlene Koppenhaver, 2010's Marilyn O'Leary and 2003's Elaine Garrison. Runners-up included Mary Mancini, Maura Harrower, Barbara Eubanks and Correan Baker in a knockout red dress.

O'Leary, the reigning queen, said the best part of representing the pageant was "to be able to participate in any events geared toward our seniors. They're our treasures and should be treated as such."

Both she and Guralnik each entertained the crowd of about 75 with a song.

Other attendees included Elaine Garding, Barbara McDonnaugh, Shirley Miller, Pat Puckett, Jesse Bolero, Mercedes Kersey, Veronica Mosley, Rosalind Robinson, Eunice Claxton, Cassie Lovett, Arvella Lindsey, Patricia Thomas, Iona Miller and Anita Maldonado.

No prom would be complete without a coronation. John Cosellin was honored as king of the event. He opted to keep on his baseball cap when Monsignor Patrick Leary, chief executive officer of Catholic Charities, crowned him.

It was an extra special day for Cosellin, being his 101st birthday.

His secret to longevity? "Moderation in all things," he said.

The queen of the prom was Rose Czetinvi, 96. The prince was Orson Rust, 80, and the princess Lilian Czio, 88.

Leary said he saw a lot of wisdom and blessings as he looked around the room.

"It's not how many years you have, it's the love you put into those years," he said.

Kimberly Kindig, director of senior programs at Catholic Charities, said, "It was apparent to us that our seniors were longing to participate in an event just like this ... (we wanted) to give them a memorable evening."

The St. Vincent Lied Dining Room catered the event with Italian sausages, beef teriyaki, turkey croquettes and cocktail meatballs.

The Senior Companion Program is part of Senior Corps, a national program created to answer the call to serve. The program reaches 300 clients in Southern Nevada, many of whom are cut off from interaction with others and don't have the means to participate in activities.