Aaron Grant Gerber

Aaron Grant Gerber - known throughout his life and career as Grant - was born June 11, 1942, in Elko, Nevada, to Claude and Laura Boyd Gerber. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Brigham Young University in 1972 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Tulsa College of Law in 1978. Before entering the law, he served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War in 1968-69, rising to the rank of Captain in the Army Special Forces as a Green Beret.

Grant was admitted to the Nevada bar in 1978 and founded Gerber Law Offices, LLP in Elko in 1980, going on to practice law in Northern Nevada for more than 36 years. Much of his work centered on the protection and free use of private lands, a cause that defined both his legal practice and his public life. His firm continues today under the direction of his sons, who carry on the family legacy in Elko.

Beyond his practice, Grant was elected an Elko County Commissioner and was widely known as an advocate for land rights and constitutional principles. He was involved with numerous organizations, including the American Lands Council, the Great Basin College Foundation, the Northeastern Nevada Museum, the Blue Ribbon Coalition, the Wilderness Impact Research Foundation, the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. He organized several grassroots efforts on behalf of ranchers and public-land users, most notably the coast-to-coast Grass March/Cowboy Express. Grant died October 25, 2014, at the age of 72.