Author: NWHP

Leeder, Nancyann Pacheco – Reno, Washoe County

Posted on August 29, 2024October 18, 2024 by NWHP

Rhode Island native, Nancyann Leeder found herself in Reno with three young children in 1964 where she found a position as a news reporter for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Her main reporter “beats” were education, the Judicial College, courts, and. police. She obtained a B.A. at UNR in 1970 while still working for the newspaper.  With recommendations from Judicial College judges, she left Reno for S...
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LaVoy, Marian – Reno, Washoe County

Posted on August 29, 2024 by NWHP

98 years young, Marian LaVoy hails from a pioneer Elko, Nevada family.  She grew up on the family ranch, near Elko, obtained her teaching degree from the University of Nevada in 1944, met a handsome young Marine pilot from Sparks, Nevada and soon married him. Her life consisted, then, of following her husband in his assignments until he retired in 1972.  The couple moved to Reno and then Fall...
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Fennell, Nancy – Reno, Washoe County

Posted on August 29, 2024August 29, 2024 by NWHP

As President of Dickson Realty company, Nancy has had a colorful career.  She began her life in Charlotte, North Carolina, and had a successful career both in New York City in fashion merchandising and as co-owner of  a distribution company in Nashville, Tennessee. She and husband, Harvey moved to Reno in 1987 to assist Harvey’s sister, Fianna Combs Dickson in selling her successful real esta...
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Bennett, Dana – Midas, Elko County

Posted on August 29, 2024August 29, 2024 by NWHP

Dana Bennett is both a historical Nevada researcher and author.  Among Dana’s many accolades, she became the first woman to head of the Nevada Mining Association.  Currently the editor of the Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly and owner of Midas Strategies, a boutique research firm., her interests include history of women in Nevada politics, state policies, and history of the Ne...
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Del Papa, Frankie Sue

Posted on August 29, 2024August 29, 2024 by NWHP

Frankie Sue’s life story is one of “Firsts.”  She was the first woman elected Secretary of the State of Nevada, as well as the first woman elected as Nevada State Attorney General.  She held a University of Nevada Regent seat for one term. But Frankie Sue’s bio goes far beyond that.  Moving from the small town of Tonopah to Las Vegas, she honed her leadership skills beginning with Student Bod...
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Raffealli, Sandy

Posted on August 3, 2023 by NWHP

Sandy Raffealli is Owner/Partner in Bill Pearce Motors, Inc. in Reno, but came to that position in a round-about manner.  As a young girl the family moved frequently as her father’s positions in the auto industry took him to many states.  Finally settling in Reno, her father, Bill Pearce, was hired at the Waldren Motors Oldsmobile dealership, which he later purchased. Sandy graduated from the...
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Nappe, Leontine “Tina” Bundy

Posted on August 3, 2023August 24, 2023 by NWHP

Leontine “Tina” Bundy Nappe grew up on a small ranch in Washoe Valley.  Having a father who was a nationally acclaimed artist, Gus Bundy, meant that she had exposure to art and prominent artists at a very young age.  Tina spent her first five years schooled in a one room schoolhouse in Washoe Valley before moving to a larger city population.  She graduated from the University o...
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Lynch, Patricia A.

Posted on August 3, 2023August 3, 2023 by NWHP

Reno native, Judge Patricia Lynch, graduated  from the University of Nevada, Reno and then entered McGeorge School of Law as one of 5 women in her class of 200.  Her career started as a VISTA attorney, and then a legislative assistant in Washington D.C. for Congressman John Moss from Sacramento, Calif.  Patricia came back to Nevada and was hired as the first female city attorney in Reno’s Cit...
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Gibbons, Dawn

Posted on August 3, 2023August 24, 2023 by NWHP

Dawn Gibbons, Nevada’s 28th First Lady, former State Assemblyman, and successful business owner, has led an interesting life.  Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Dawn moved to Nevada in 1974.  She worked for her mother and stepfather in their wedding chapel businesses and graduated from UNR.  At the age of 28 in 1982 she purchased the business from her parents. She married Jim Gibbons i...
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Del Cohen, Shayne

Posted on August 3, 2023August 24, 2023 by NWHP

Shayne Del Cohen first came to Nevada as VISTA volunteer with the Inter-Tribal Council of Nevada.  Her interest in community development caused her to go all over the world looking at such efforts but most of her professional life has been spent with various minority populations across the USA. Shayne helped create the first tribally owned/controlled health center at the RSIC and work...
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Bufkin, Marjean Huddleston

Posted on August 3, 2023August 3, 2023 by NWHP

Decatur, Mississippi native, Marjean Huddleston Bufkin describes her family’s three room home as having no electric lights, running water, or refrigerator, and a wood stove was used for cooking and heating. Transportation consisted of walking or a wagon.  The first vehicle, a truck, was purchased when she was 10.  Although the family of nine lived in poverty, she related that on their small f...
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Armstrong, Deborah Bufkin

Posted on August 2, 2023August 3, 2023 by NWHP

Washoe County native, Deborah Bufkin Armstrong, graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a degree in psychology. She first began in social work, gravitating to the Committee to Aid Abused Women, where she found her passion, and which she considers her greatest achievement in working with women and children in abuse situations.  She founded a non-profit program called “Safe Embr...
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Joyce Cox — 2023

Posted on June 9, 2023June 9, 2023 by NWHP

A long-time member of the Nevada Women’s History  Project, Joyce Cox has lived in Washoe County on and off since 1974. Joyce has worked as a research librarian in California, Nevada, and Washington. Joyce retired as the Head of Reference at the Nevada State Library and Archives (NSLA). She served as treasurer of the Nevada Library Association from 1987-1988 and again in 1990.   While at th...
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Laura Tennant -2022

Posted on June 9, 2023June 9, 2023 by NWHP

The Women of Achievement honors luncheon is back after a two-year hiatus because of COVID. In 2020, NWHP nominated Laura Tennant for our Woman of Achievement, but the event was cancelled. She has graciously agreed to be our 2022 recipient. Laura is a phenomenal researcher and Nevada historian. Unlike many historians who work for their own insight, Laura has continually shared her inform...
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First Known Nevada Female Author – 1840-1904

Posted on June 14, 2021June 14, 2021 by NWHP

By Patti Bernard   Anna Mariska Shultz Fitch  Photo courtesy the Honolulu Advertiser When one thinks of most women in the mid to late 19th century, mental pictures of a woman in a long  dress whose interests center predominately around home and family generally come to mind. But  remember that this was an era of active women’s suffrage, and women began entering...
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Mount, Evelyn Longs

Posted on January 12, 2021January 12, 2021 by NWHP

Evelyn has spent most of her life taking care of others.  She was born in Arkansas but moved west as a young adult.  Evelyn came to Reno from Los Angeles in 1979 where she met her husband, Leon.  Evelyn’s grandparents taught her the importance of giving to others and she has followed that course of action throughout her entire life.  She has received many honors, including...
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Sisolak, Kathy Ong

Posted on January 12, 2021December 5, 2022 by NWHP

Born in Ely, Nevada of immigrant parents, but raised in Las Vegas, Kathy Sisolak is the 2nd First Lady to hold a professional career, as well performing her official state duties.  Becoming First Lady of Nevada was something she never dreamed of.  She was busy pursuing a career when she met County Commissioner, Steve Sisolak at a gym they both frequented and they married shortly bef...
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Ceroke, Loretta Fajardo

Posted on January 12, 2021January 12, 2021 by NWHP

Native American of the Cuiyui Ticutta band of the Northern Paiute Tribe, Loretta grew up on the Pyramid Lake reservation.   As both her parents worked, she spent much of her early life living with her grandmother, where she learned the skill of ‘beading.’   Schooling was both at Nixon and Pyramid Lake, with high school in Fernley.  Loretta was the first native Miss Nevada Day P...
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HELP US IDENTIFY & WRITE THESE WOMEN BACK INTO NEVADA’S HISTORY

Posted on November 14, 2019November 14, 2019 by NWHP

The Nevada Women’s History project is asking for your help to identify these women and locate a photograph of the special V&T passenger car that they traveled in from Reno to Carson City. Is this information in old family scrapbooks? On August 26, 2020 our nation will celebrate the centennial of the passage of the 19th Suffrage Amendment. On February 7th of 1920, a group of women t...
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NWHP Receives “The Bonnie” Award

Posted on July 8, 2019July 8, 2019 by NWHP

The Nevada Women’s History Project was one of five Preserve Nevada Honorees to receive for the first time “The Bonnie.” The award banquet was held at the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada on May 10, 2019. Preserve Nevada is a 501c3 non-profit affiliated with the UNLV Foundation. Their website states, “Preserve Nevada is dedicated to the preservation of Nevada’s cultural, historical, and archaeolo...
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Zajick, Dolora – Reno, Washoe

Posted on April 4, 2019February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Born in Salem, Oreg., but raised in Nevada, Delora has attained a stellar career at the international level in opera.  She is known, worldwide, for her dramatic mezzo-soprano voice. After receiving both undergraduate and master’s degrees from UNR, Dolora went on to attend the Manhattan School of Music.  In 1982 she won the Bronze Medal at the 7th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. I...
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Weber, Dorismae – Reno, Washoe

Posted on April 4, 2019February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Born in Chicago. Ill. in 1929 at the start of the Depression, an interesting facet in Doris’ life was playing professional baseball for the Parichy Bloomer Girls baseball team; one of six professional women’s baseball teams that played in the Chicago centered National Girls Softball League (1944-1954). At the end of that “career,” she headed west to San Francisco, eventually finding work with the...
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Moon, Jane – Reno, Washoe

Posted on April 4, 2019February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Jane was born in New York City where, in 1952, she married William Moon.  A member of the armed forces at that time, he was soon transferred to San Francisco, Cal.  Their children were born in San Francisco. William, became a manager of Schwabacher Fray in 1969 and was transferred to Reno, Nev.   Jane joined local organizations such as the Reno-Sparks NAACP, Eastern Star, Reno Soroptimists, and t...
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Melton, Marilyn – Reno, Washoe

Posted on April 4, 2019February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Reno, Nevada artist and philanthropist, Marilyn Melton has participated in countless organizations, as well as serving as a board member of many.   In addition to her association of over 20 years with Nevada Humanities, Marilyn served as Trustee for the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, a national foundation whose funding was brought into Nevada, through her deceased husband, Rollan Melton, a former ...
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Loper, Diane – Reno, Washoe

Posted on April 4, 2019February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Diane, an early activist in the domestic violence movement, says she has always been involved in human issues. She was born in Montana but came to Nevada in 1967 when husband, Keith was hired as the UNR wrestling and assistant football coach. She has been a driving force behind the enactment of much Nevada legislation concerning domestic violence and other women’s and social issues. Diane was a f...
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Bernard, Carolyn – Reno, Washoe

Posted on April 4, 2019February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Carolyn Bernard was born in Yerington and is proud of her 4th generation Nevada Heritage. As a stay at home mom until her children were of school age, Carolyn said that her first real job outside the home, was volunteering to help her uncle, Wilson McGowan, in his successful campaign to become Nevada State Controller.  She then became increasingly active in community organizations. She w...
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A Salute to Sally Zanjani Benjamin Victor, sculptor of the Sarah Winnemucca statue

Posted on February 14, 2019February 14, 2019 by NWHP

By Marcia Cuccaro The Hidden Valley Golf Club in Reno hosted the October 7th NWHP luncheon event honoring Sally Springmeyer Zanjani and Sarah Winnemucca sculptor, Benjamin Victor. At the age of 26, Mr. Victor became the youngest artist ever to have a statue in Washington D.C.’s National Statuary Hall Collection. He was chosen to create this statue by a group of dedicated NWHP members chaire...
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Gwendolyn Clancy – 2018

Posted on October 31, 2018November 8, 2018 by NWHP

NWHP Women of Achievement - Honoree 2018 Longtime filmmaker Gwendolyn Clancy explores the stories of people and their passions. Her award-winning work includes Virtual Harmony (produced for KNPB), Sarah Winnemucca: A Capital Figure, Cowhand's Song and Eye of the Prospector. She has teamed up with many organizations to carry forward their visions, including Carmel of Reno, Nevada Arts Council and ...
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Betty Glass – 2018

Posted on October 31, 2018October 31, 2018 by NWHP

NWHP Women of Achievement - Honoree 2018 Betty Glass was invited to the 2018 Women of Achievement luncheon by the NWHP Board of Directors to thank her for completion of the 2nd Edition of Women in Nevada History: An Annotated Bibliography of Published Sources. The 2nd Edition is a digital document which soon will be housed on the UNR Special Collections website. Betty was originally honored as th...
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Jacki Falkenroth – 2017

Posted on October 31, 2018October 31, 2018 by NWHP

NWHP Women of Achievement - Honoree 2017 NWHP honors Women of Achievement nominee Jacki Falkenroth. Jacki became active by joining the Jean Ford Research Committee. Although she travels extensively, she has become one of those “go to” members for any activity. Jacki is a graduate of UNR. She is married to Chuck Falkenroth, a retired corporate controller. The couple’s love of travel has resulted i...
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Hello Hollywood, Hello! A look back in time.

Posted on September 10, 2018January 4, 2022 by NWHP

https://youtu.be/cvJD-hENl7Y The Nevada Women's History Project presented a program with Karen Burns in 2017, at the Bruka Theatre in Reno, NV, highlighting the amazing costumes worn by the dancers in the famous Reno MGM production. Presenters at this event were Michael Eardley, Debbie Bayliss Kladney, Karen Burns, Catherine Eardley and Linda Nordvig.
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NEW in our collections:

Posted on June 19, 2018October 22, 2024 by NWHP

THE 10 MOST RECENT POSTED BIOGRAPHIES: Athlete, academic, author pioneered equality for women in sports and society Community volunteer leader contributed to health, education,  parks and recreation  Reno High teacher wrote volumes on Nevada history Dedicated nurse, public servant, turned aviatrix Archeologist spearheaded documentation of state's rock art Designer of iconic Las...
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The Nevada Women’s History Project – Founders Panel

Posted on May 15, 2018January 4, 2022 by NWHP

Highlights https://youtu.be/v5KeVibGCyU Full Interview https://youtu.be/ZqhmtHOuLDg Lynn Bremer, Fritsi Ericson, Kathy Noneman and Linda Wyckoff were interviewed, January 15, 2016, by the Nevada Women's History Project as part of The History of Two Women's Organizations project. This video was funded by the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust.
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The Nevada Women’s Fund – Founders Panel

Posted on May 15, 2018January 4, 2022 by NWHP

Highlights https://youtu.be/HLIW-1BG6-s Full Interview https://youtu.be/VO1CFbPptzs Lynn Atcheson, Fritsi Ericson and Barbara Thornton were interviewed, April 14, 2016, by the Nevada Women's History Project as part of The History of Two Women's Organizations project. This video was funded by the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust.
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Rodriguez-Wilson, Isabelle – Reno, Washoe

Posted on May 10, 2018October 10, 2022 by NWHP

Isabelle is a California native who has enjoyed a fascinating career. From 1993 to 1995, Isabelle served as Senior Advisor to President Bill Clinton directing details associated with domestic and international event, activities, travel, and protocol for both the President and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.  She produced and directed Washington, DC’s “Million Mom March” in 2000, as well a...
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Williams, Joan (Sister Joan) – Reno, Washoe

Posted on May 10, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Kentucky born Joan Williams, moved to Cincinnati, Ohio as a young girl after the death of her mother. The effects of WWII had a great influence in her life as, “it just made life more serious.” She found a book on Teresa of Avila in her boarding school library, and from that time on, she knew she would become a Carmelite contemplative nun. Sr. Joan entered the Carmelite Monastery of the Resurrect...
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Wagner, Sue – Reno, Washoe

Posted on May 10, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Maine native, Sue Wagner moved to Arizona with her family at age 10. Sue said that her family had always been politically oriented; her father serving as a Maine State Chairman of the Republican Party. She graduated high school in Tucson and went on to graduate from the University of Arizona. She received her master’s degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Sue, husband, and in...
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Tors, Jane – Reno, Washoe

Posted on May 10, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

As Director of Research Communications at the University of Nevada, Reno, Jane Tors contributes her considerable skills to the University’s enhanced reputation and capacity as a high-impact research university. Jane was born and raised in Lovelock, Nevada and earned a Bachelor of Journalism Degree from University of Nevada Reno. Before her present position, Jane served as the University’s Directo...
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Thornton, Barbara – Reno, Nevada

Posted on May 10, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Tonopah native, Barbara Cavanaugh was attending high school in San Francisco when she received word that her home in Tonopah had burned to the ground. Her parents moved to Reno where Barbara graduated from the University of Nevada Reno with a bachelor’s degree and a then a master’s degree in Political Science. Now married, Barbara headed off to the University of Utah with her youngest child in to...
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Suenaga, Florence – Carson City, Carson City

Posted on May 10, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Florence was the thirteen-year-old daughter of Japanese immigrant parents living a typical American life at the start of WWII. Shortly after December 7, 1941, the family was uprooted from their Gilroy, California farm, taken to the local fairgrounds and then transported to a Japanese Internment camp in Poston, Arizona. Florence’s detailed story of WWII internment replicates the experiences of so ...
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Sokol, Claire (Sister Claire) – Reno, Washoe

Posted on May 10, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Sister Claire came to Reno from the Seattle, Washington St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery in 2001. A Seattle Washington native, she was born into a musical family, and after college graduation from Indiana University, she played professionally in orchestras and chamber music ensembles. Upon entering the convent in 1982, Sr. Claire successfully wove her love of music into her cloister life. She has c...
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Satre, Jennifer – Reno, Washoe

Posted on May 10, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Jennifer first moved to Reno from California in 1975. Her record of community service in Reno was interrupted by a nine-year hiatus as a resident of Memphis, Tennessee in 1991, where she served on many committees and boards in that city. Returning to Reno in 1999, Jennifer quickly resumed her community involvement. Some of her many activities include, founding board member and former Chair of the...
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Mullins, Bertha – Reno, Washoe

Posted on May 10, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Bertha Mullins’ father brought his family to Nevada where he found work at the Hawthorne Army Depot during WWII.  The family, then moved to Reno where she attended local schools and graduated from University of Nevada Reno. Bertha helped develop and implemented a community health center for low income and disadvantaged families in northeast Reno, as well as designed and implemented a podiatry cli...
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Miles, Ann – Kingston, Lander

Posted on May 10, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Ann Miles, PA-C, daughter of a Carson City doctor, started a medical clinic in the tiny town of Kingston, thirty miles southwest of Austin. Austin had lost its medical clinic and the closest medical services were located at a Gabbs mine, sixty miles southwest from Kingston and one hundred forty miles from the closest hospital in Battle Mountain. Ann recounts the many undertakings necessary to qua...
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McKay, Anna Burkhardt – Eureka, Eureka

Posted on May 9, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Anna, at age thirteen, was to graduate from eighth grade when her school was bombed. She recounts the rigors of living in Germany during and post WWII years (1939-1945). At the age of fourteen she went to work for the Americans at an “enlisted men’s club” for occupation soldiers. Those positions were highly sought after by German girls because that gave them access to food, a commodity very scarc...
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Lee, Fern – Fallon, Churchill

Posted on May 9, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Fern typifies a rural Nevada woman who left Nevada but returned and set out to give back to her community through service. Fern started out in Fallon in the banking business early in her career, about the time computers were becoming commonplace in the banking industry.  She had an aptitude for interacting with the public and ultimately was promoted to an Operations Officer. This was in the decad...
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Koyle, Denys – Baker, White Pine

Posted on May 9, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Nevada is fortunate to have individuals choose Nevada as their home, and who make substantial contributions to the state. Denys typifies that woman. Taking over a run-down gas station located on the Nevada-Utah border in the late 1970s, she has turned it into a productive restaurant, motel, and gas station complex. Denys is also a co-founder of the Great Basin National Heritage Area, the only nat...
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Keller, Vida – Silver Springs, Lyon

Posted on May 9, 2018February 11, 2022 by NWHP

Silver Springs resident, Vida Keller is a California native whose drilling business brought her initially to Southern Nevada. On a business trip to Northern Nevada she fell in love with Lyon County while passing through. Vida moved to Silver Springs some time later and has been involved in business and community development for over thirty years. She has been both a Lyon County Commissioner, as w...
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Johnson, Abigail – Carson City, White Pine Counties

Posted on May 9, 2018January 12, 2021 by NWHP

Abby, raised in Connecticut, came to Nevada partly by accident. While working for John Anderson’s presidential campaign she was sent to Northern Nevada in 1980 as a campaign staffer. After Anderson’s defeat, Abby returned to the east coast but by then had fallen in love with Nevada. She accepted a position with Citizen Alert, an organization that works to assure public participation and gover...
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Holub, Pat – Carson City, Carson City

Posted on May 9, 2018January 12, 2021 by NWHP

Pat moved to Nevada with her family from California in 1958. She took painting lessons from some of the best local artists in the Reno/Carson City area and she stresses that she is a “location” painter, not a “studio” painter. Her paintings of buildings and landscapes, done throughout the state over five decades, now have gained historical relevance, as they illustrate how those scenes have n...
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