In honor of election day, this week’s Grave of the Week is Kenny Guinn, former Governor of Nevada.
Gov. Guinn was born in Arkansas in 1936. His parents moved the family to Exeter where he attended elementary and high school. He received an athletic scholarship to USC and later transferred to FSU. He earned a master’s in PE and began Doctoral studies at Stanford, completing his Doctorate at Utah State.
Gov. Guinn, and his wife Dema, moved to Las Vegas in 1964, where he became an administrator in the Clark County School District. From that position, he became superintendent. He later worked as a bank executive and Chairman and CEO of Southwest Gas. Prior to running for Governor, he served as interim president of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
His was elected to his first term as governor in 1998. He defeated the Democrat nominee with 52% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2002 defeating his Democrat opponent by 62% to 22%. One of his first executive orders was for each department to complete a review of state government; this order resulted in millions of tax dollars being saved. He streamlined Nevada’s government but at the same time, increased accessibility to more state services. He initiated a Millennium Scholarship program which provided all Nevada HS graduates a scholarship to attend a Nevada university; Senior Rx, a state-run prescription drug program for seniors; and privatized the state’s workers comp system. In 2005, he was named by Time Magazine as one of the five best governors in America.
The governor believed in the importance of helping those in need. “I believe we must measure success by how we are able to care for the most fragile of our citizens – our children, our elderly and those who are disabled. We cannot afford to do everything, but there are some things we can’t afford not to do.” He and his wife lent their full support to the Nevada Mammovan program which provided mammograms to the uninsured. He also promoted the Nevada Check Up program for kids; there were 1,800 enrolled when he took office and when he left, 30,000 were enrolled.
After leaving office, he served on the board of the MGM Mirage.
When he passed, all Nevada state offices, as well as the MGM resorts, flew their flags at half-staff. Wayne Newton issued a statement saying, “Kenny’s passing is proof that fate is neither just nor kind. However, when Kenny’s history is written, it will have to include that he left the world a better place than he found it, especially for those of us who knew and loved him,” he said. “He was a great friend, family man and public servant.”
While he died at his home in Las Vegas, he returned to Exeter for his final rest. Please share your memories of the governor and his family here. Remember him, his principles, and what he stood for, as you cast your vote today.
Message if you know anyone who should be featured on Grave of the Week. Please include any information about the person’s life and where the grave is located.
Please continue to like, share, and follow the Exeter Cemetery District and thank you to Exeter Chamber of Commerce, Exeter Kiwanis, The Sun-Gazette Newspaper, Kiwanis of Woodlake, Kiwanis Club Of Farmersville for sharing