Paul D. Laxalt

Paul Dominique Laxalt was born on August 2, 1922, in Reno, Nevada, the son of Basque immigrants from the Pyrenees. He attended Carson High School and graduated from Santa Clara University before serving in the U.S. Army as a medic during World War II, seeing action at the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines. Returning home, he completed his legal studies at the University of Denver and entered the practice of law, where he handled defense cases and built the foundation of a career in public service.

Mr. Laxalt was elected district attorney of Ormsby County - which then encompassed Carson City - serving in that office through the early 1950s. He went on to a distinguished career in Nevada public life, winning election as lieutenant governor in 1962 and as governor of Nevada in 1966. As governor he was credited with repairing relations between the state and federal governments over Nevada's gaming industry, helping launch the state's community college system and first medical school, and advancing Lake Tahoe preservation efforts.

In 1974 he won election to the United States Senate, where he served until his retirement in 1987 and became one of President Ronald Reagan's closest political confidants. After leaving the Senate, Mr. Laxalt continued to work as a lawyer while operating a consulting business in the Washington, D.C. area. He died on August 6, 2018, at the age of 96, remembered as one of the most influential figures in Nevada's modern history.