Gold in the Silver State

Adin, Lucille – Sparks, Washoe

Posted on March 9, 2018August 2, 2023 by NWHP

A native of South Carolina, Lucille and her husband came to Nevada in 1962. A stay-at-home mom with her small children, Lucille, nevertheless, found she was always volunteering at her children’s schools. Volunteering was still a part of Lucille’s life even as she worked full-time for Washoe County School District when her children were older. After her retirement she became even more active...
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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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Atcheson, Lynn – Reno, Washoe

Posted on March 9, 2018August 20, 2018 by NWHP

Through her community leadership and professional achievements, Lynn has contributed to the health and vitality of the Truckee Meadows and Washoe County for many years. A native Nevadan, born in White Pine County, Lynn has spent most of her of her adult life in Reno. She has held leadership positions with Sierra Pacific Power Co. (now Nevada Energy), Harrah’s, as Director of Public Affairs, and ...
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Baker, Gretchen – Baker, White Pine

Posted on March 9, 2018August 20, 2018 by NWHP

Gretchen came to Nevada in 2001 from Indiana to work as a biologist at Great Basin National Park and never left the area. Having resided in Baker (town has no relation to her name) for over 15 years, she is the author of three publications; Great Basin National Park: A Guide to the Park and Surrounding Area; The Great Basin for Kids; and a Nevada cave-based mystery, An Un-Conventional Murder. S...
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Batjer, Marybel – Reno, Washoe

Posted on March 9, 2018August 20, 2018 by NWHP

Carson City native, Marybel’s job experiences have taken her to Washington DC and California, as well as Nevada. She has held Pentagon and White House positions in both the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations. Marybel has worked for 3 Governors; Nevada’s Kenny Guinn, and California’s Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown. She also served as former Vice President of Public Policy and Corp...
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Bennett, Kay – Silver Springs, Lyon Co.

Posted on March 9, 2018August 20, 2018 by NWHP

Kay came to Nevada from California in 1978 and shortly after, took the position of Director of Surgery at Carson Tahoe Hospital. She has been active in community government affairs since then, as well as aviation. Kay has served on numerous boards including the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and Carson City Board of Supervisors. A pilot and former owner of Silver Springs Airport, Kay is a member...
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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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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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Cafferata, Patricia – Reno, Washoe

Posted on March 9, 2018August 20, 2018 by NWHP

Educator, State Legislator, attorney, State Treasurer, and author of numerous Nevada books and articles, Patty has had a diverse career in law and politics. She was the first woman elected to a constitutional office in Nevada when she was elected State Treasurer in 1982. Patty is a lifelong resident of Reno and is active in recording and preserving the history of Nevada. Patty Cafferata...
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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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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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Damele, Arlene – Eureka, Eureka

Posted on March 9, 2018August 20, 2018 by NWHP

Arlene Damele, born in Elko, has lived in rural Nevada all her life. She and her husband ranched in Eureka County, where common amenities such as telephones were nonexistent. If she had an emergency when her husband had their only car, she was to light a pile of old tires, stacked for such a reason, to signal for help. Later they moved to the town of Eureka where she worked for the Eureka County...
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Emm-Smith, Cheri – Schurz, Lyon

Posted on March 9, 2018August 20, 2018 by NWHP

Native American, Cheri Emm-Smith was born in Schurz, Nevada. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, and Arizona State University, College of Law she is presently (2017) serving as Yerington Municipal Court Judge, as well as engaged in private practice. Cheri has served as District Attorney of Mineral County and Deputy District Attorney of Churchill County. Cheri wears another hat, also. S...
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Ericson, Fritsi – Reno, Washoe

Posted on May 4, 2018January 12, 2021 by NWHP

Fritsi is a third generation Nevadan born in Reno, Nevada. A former educator and staff member for Congressman James D. Santini (1975-1983), Fritsi’s interest in women and children’s well-being led her to become a founding member of the Nevada Women’s Fund, and in 1984 she became its chief administrator. Fritsi retired in 2005 as president and CEO. As a community activist, Fritsi has held nume...
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Fox, Ada (Sister Michael Fox) – Reno, Washoe

Posted on May 4, 2018January 12, 2021 by NWHP

Sister Michael entered the Carmelite Monastery of the Resurrection in Indianapolis, Indiana and transferred to Nevada in 1956 to help in the building of the Carmel of Reno Order, which had been established just two years before. Although she intended to stay just one year, now more than sixty years later she is still here. Sister Michael is blessed with a wonderful artistic talent and is the ...
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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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Helming, Deann – Austin, Lander

Posted on May 4, 2018January 12, 2021 by NWHP

Wyoming native Deann Helming moved to Austin in 1981. Her interview illustrates the self-reliant life of a rural Nevada woman raising a family in a small town (population 192) hundreds of miles away from larger towns, such as Ely (population 4,000) or Fallon (population 8,000), with more shopping opportunities. Clothing, groceries, medical appointments, as well as high school age children’s a...
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Hilts, Ruth – Reno, Washoe

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

Ruth is not only an accomplished longtime artist, but she is also a fount of historical knowledge of the city of Reno. She was born in 1923 when Reno, Nevada’s largest city had a population of about 20,000 and she has participated in all facets of Reno’s community growth as it has reached its current population of 237,000. Not only does Ruth recount her long history in the Reno art community,...
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Holmes, Dorothy Nash – Reno, Washoe

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

Dorothy Nash Holmes is a native Nevadan born in Reno, Nevada. She is a graduate of the University of Nevada Reno and held a variety of jobs before deciding to go to law school. Dorothy has been a lawyer for more than 33 years and was the 75th woman to be licensed to practice law in Nevada. She was the first woman to do prosecution in the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office, and she holds...
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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