Former mayor of Boulder City Georgeson dies

Thursday, Feb. 12, 1998 | 10:30 a.m.

When Robert Georgeson was a teenager, he watched as the family fortune built by his father, Boulder City retail pioneer R.L. "Pop" Georgeson, was depleted by the combination of a bad land investment and the onset of the Depression.

The elder Georgeson, a Scottish immigrant, had invested heavily in streets, sewers and sidewalks for a beach development in Ventura, Calif., where the family lived in the late 1920s before moving to Boulder City in 1933. But bank loans became scarce when the Depression hit and few people could afford to buy the homes.

That financially draining incident, spurred somewhat by unchecked growth, made Pop a strong opponent of the incorporation of Boulder City, which throughout the 1930s, '40s and '50s was run by the federal government before it was incorporated in 1959.

While Robert held true to his father's desire to keep Boulder City small and friendly, he took a more active political role in that outcome in the early 1960s by becoming the town's fourth mayor.

Robert W. Georgeson, who from the late 1930s through the early '70s ran The Men's Store clothiers in Boulder City and fought diligently to keep his postcard picturesque community free from the entanglements of growth, died Monday at his home following a lengthy illness. He was 83.

Services for the Boulder City resident of 65 years will be at 11 a.m. Friday in the Boulder City Masonic Lodge, 901 Arizona St. Palm Mortuary-Henderson is handling the arrangements.

"He was a very congenial and compassionate individual who could look at situations and resolve the issues," said Boulder City Mayor Robert Ferraro, a longtime friend.

"He worked hard to maintain the small-town lifestyle. And his store offered the finest quality suits, shoes, belts, sports coats, casual wear and work clothes -- comparable to what was available at the bigger stores in Las Vegas and reasonably priced."

The Men's Store long operated at Avenue B and Nevada Highway before Georgeson sold it in the early 1970s. It was relocated to what is now the Vons Plaza and later closed.

Southern Nevada historian Dennis McBride, who has written extensively on the Hoover Dam and Boulder City, said Georgeson served as mayor and councilman at what was a difficult time for that community's political leaders.

"It was a tough job because he had to balance the concerns of the people who were angry about incorporation with the desires of others who wanted to buy land and develop it," said McBride, author of "In the Beginning: A History of Boulder City."

"It was a very unstable time and he helped get the town through that period of transition."

Georgeson and his father were not only successful businessmen but also prominent civic leaders.

The elder Georgeson was a charter member of the Boulder City Elks Lodge and the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce. Robert was a past president of the Boulder City Rotary Club. Both were 32nd degree Masons.

Ferraro, a four-time mayor of the city, served with Robert in the Rotary Club and with the Masons, as well as on the Boulder City Museum and Historical Association board of directors.

On Tuesday night, prior to a public meeting, Ferraro led the Boulder City Council and spectators in a moment of silence in memory of Georgeson, who came from a long line of colorful characters, many of whom were seafaring men.

His grandfather, William Georgeson, was a Scottish sea captain who died of sunstroke aboard his ship off the coast of Africa.

As a result, Robert's grandmother, Robina Georgeson, migrated to Brainerd, Minn., with her son, R.L. Georgeson, who by age 21 owned his first men's clothing store.

After selling the Brainerd shop, Pop moved to St. Paul in 1905 to work for Browning-King department store, where he met and later married the shop's bookkeeper, whose first name appropriately was Addie.

Robert Georgeson, their only son, was born March 25, 1914, in St. Paul.

The family moved to Ventura in 1917, where Pop operated a variety store and taught his son the finer points of the retail industry. After the failure of the family's big real estate investment, the Georgesons sold their store and moved to Southern Nevada, near where the Hoover Dam was being built.

There, Pop bought a retail outlet from businessman Roy Fairbanks and, in August 1933, opened a men's clothing store called The Emporium, which he sold several years later. He also invested in land and built rental properties in the new town, which helped rebuild the family's wealth.

In 1938, Pop bankrolled his son's clothing store and, in the early-to-mid-1940s, ran the place while Robert served in Europe during World War II.

Robert, who rose from the enlisted ranks to become an Army officer, returned home in 1946 and took over the store, allowing his dad to retire at age 68. However, for many years after that, Pop hung around the shop, mostly chatting with customers but also helping out during busy times.

Robert was elected to the City Council in the early 1960s and, as is the practice in Boulder City, was selected as mayor by his fellow councilmen. He served in the top post from May 1962 to May 1963.

Georgeson was the city's fourth mayor, following Bob Broadbent, who served in 1960, Albert Franklin in 1961 and Morgan Sweeney from October 1961 to April 1962.

Georgeson also served on the Boulder City Advisory Council, the Charter Commission and the planning commissions for both Boulder City and Clark County.

He was a member of the Boulder City Masonic Lodge No. 37, Zelzah Shrine Temple and the Boulder City Shrine Club.

Georgeson is survived by his wife, Lorraine Georgeson; a stepson, Purnell Westbrook Jr., of Crozet, Va.; two grandchildren; and five great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Irma Georgeson, and a sister.

DONATIONS: In Georgeson's memory to the American Heart Association.