Elmer Millard Gunderson

Elmer Millard "Al" Gunderson was born on August 9, 1929, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He served in the United States Army during the Korean War and earned his law degree from Creighton University School of Law. As a young man he worked as a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas before building his legal career in Nevada, where he was admitted to practice and spent roughly a dozen years in law before seeking judicial office.

In November 1970, Gunderson was elected to the Supreme Court of Nevada, prevailing in a hard-fought statewide campaign against a far more senior member of the bar. He took his seat in 1971 and went on to serve three terms on the state's highest court, including service as chief justice, before retiring at the end of 1988. Colleagues remembered him as a tireless and dedicated jurist during nearly two decades on the bench.

Following his years on the Nevada Supreme Court, Gunderson taught law at Southwestern Law School from 1989 to 1991. He died on May 13, 2010, at the age of 80, at his home in Las Vegas.