Longtime attorney Parraguirre dies at 72

Friday, Dec. 18, 1998 | 11:35 a.m.

David Gerald Parraguirre, a longtime Northern Nevada attorney and a member of one of the state's oldest families, died Dec. 9 at his home in Reno. He was 72.

Parraguirre was the son of longtime Mono County (Calif.) tax assessor and resort operator Paul Martin Yparraguirre -- the family dropped the "Y" from its name in the 1950s. He also was the brother of former Nye County Judge Paul Parraguirre and the uncle of Las Vegas Municipal Judge Ron Parraguirre.

Services for David, a native Nevadan, were Monday in Reno. He was interred in the family plot in Bridgeport, Calif., a town just west of the Western Nevada state line, where his parents operated the Sierra Lodge in the 1940s and '50s.

David served as Washoe County public defender from 1983 to '91. Prior to that, he was a Sparks assistant city attorney and a Washoe County deputy district attorney.

In November 1956, the three Parraguirre brothers -- David, Paul and Lorin -- made headlines when they were admitted to the Nevada bar at the same time. Each had attended UNR and each had graduated from the University of California at Berkeley.

All three earned their law degrees from the University of Denver in 1954. Two years later, Paul, then 33; David, then 31; and Lorin, then 28, all took and passed the bar exam on the same date.

David, who attended UNR from 1944 to '46, was the University of Denver law school student body president in 1952.

His first job after passing the bar was as a legislative bill drafter in Carson City.

David was born Aug. 31, 1925, on the family's sheep ranch in Sweetwater, an old Nevada town just east of the California state line.

His mother, the former Bertha Jones, was a longtime school teacher in Nevada and California. His father was born in San Francisco in 1889, survived the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and moved to Sweetwater two years later.

There, Paul Yparraguirre and his brother operated the family's sheep ranch, which for many years had been run by his father and uncles. The ranch was sold in 1920.

For many years after that, Paul was an official with Union Oil Co. in Nevada and California. From 1939 to '55, he served as Mono County tax assessor.

In addition to his parents, David's brother Lorin preceded him in death.

In recent years, David enjoyed spending time with his large family and going on hunting and fishing trips.

In addition to his older brother, David is survived by his companion and former wife, Audrey Parraguirre; a daughter, Wendy Beetle; a son, Patrick Parraguirre, two stepsons, William Lampson and Richard Lampson; six grandchildren; and one great grandchild.

Donations in memory of David G. Parragirre to the UNR Scholarship Foundation.