Longtime Miss Mississippi Pageant executive secretary Wayne Sutter was remembered Saturday as a man who dedicated himself to the pageant’s goals and treated contestants and staff like they were part of his family.

Sutter died Friday, four days after becoming ill during a meeting of the pageant’s executive committee, said David Blackledge, executive director for the Vicksburg-based Miss Mississippi Corporation.

The timing was ironic, given how much time and affection the 64-year-old Sutter had given to the pageant, Blackledge said.

“Wayne was so committed to the pageant,” Blackledge said. “He really enjoyed working with all of the contestants and took a personal interest in them, like they were his own daughters. I appreciated his commitment and hard work. The pageant staff was really like his family.”

Sutter managed all the office functions, including phones and e-mail, spending many hours there year-round beyond what he was paid to do, Blackledge said. “He volunteered a lot of his time. It was a labor of love for him.”

Replacing him will be a challenge, but won’t be undertaken immediately, he added.

“Right now we have several people who are very familiar with the office. We’ll have to do it by committee for the time being,” he said.

Contestants for the Miss Mississippi’s Outstanding Teen Pageant are scheduled to begin arriving in Vicksburg May 31 for that competition, set for June 2-4. The Miss Mississippi pageant follows, with preliminaries beginning June 29 and Miss Mississippi named July 2.

Another key pageant figure, Louise Hall, stepped down this year as hostess chairman. Hall’s former assistant, Pam Dorrell, has been named to replace her, Blackledge said, and things look good for the upcoming events.

“We have a great group of volunteers, and people will pitch in to make it work,” he said. “They’ll step up to make it happen.”

Sutter is survived by his wife, Tammy Folger-Sutter, who works with the Miss Mississippi Corporation as treasurer, and a brother, who lives in North Dakota.

Funeral arrangements are pending, under the direction of Glenwood Funeral Home.