Pioneer Las Vegas home builder Chism dies at 78

Jace Radke and Ed Koch

Friday, Feb. 11, 2000 | 8:45 a.m.

As a home builder Hank Chism was known as a visionary, but it was what he did when he wasn't working that made him a fixture in the Las Vegas community in the more than 35 years he lived here.

Homes built by his company, Chism Homes, stretch from one end of the Las Vegas Valley to the other, but that distance is nothing compared to how far Chism's heart could stretch, longtime friend and neighbor Kay Barber said.

"There are lots of stories about Hank, but the one I remember is sparked by an old clunker of a car that I had noticed parked in Hank's driveway years ago," Barber said. "After a while I finally asked Hank why he had that old junker, and he said it was collateral.

"It turns out a young couple just starting out couldn't afford the down payment on a house, so he took the car as collateral. I don't think he ever saw that down payment, but he didn't mind. That's the kind of person he was."

Chism died of natural causes at his home Thursday. He was 78.

Chism first came to Las Vegas in the 1950s to build homes, and moved to the city permanently in 1963, establishing Chism Homes. His vision of a future Las Vegas that would experience booming growth has come true.

"In my opinion, the growth of Las Vegas is still in its infancy, and will continue to grow into a metropolitan city during the years to come if we can resolve the potential water shortage and other growth problems," Chism said in a 1990 Sun interview.

While his homes went up in Henderson, in eastern Las Vegas near Sloan Lane and Bonanza Road, in the northwest near Jones Boulevard and Vegas Drive or near U.S. 95 and Alexander Road, Chism was giving his time to charitable organizations.

He was a member of the American Cancer Society, the Nevada State Museum Historical Society and the Las Vegas Boys Town.

"He really loved this town and was dedicated to Las Vegas," Barber said.

Chism was born May 28, 1921, in Vallejo, Calif. During World War II he served in a Navy construction battalion with which he was assigned to train captured German Luftwaffe pilots in construction techniques so that they would be useful at overseas bases during their imprisonment.

When he returned from the war he became a project manager for an Arkansas home builder, and put up homes in that state, Louisiana and Mississippi. Over the years he built in Colorado, Utah, Iowa, Nebraska, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada before moving to Las Vegas with his wife, Marjorie.

He served as president of the Southern Nevada Homebuilders Association in 1977, and was selected by the National Association of Home Builders as one of nine builders across the nation to work with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement cost-saving procedures for residential construction.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Chism continued to build homes during the recession in the 1980s. He told the Sun that his secret to making sure he could continue to put affordable houses on the market was remaining cautious during peak years so he could contend with the valleys.

Irene Porter, a former executive director of the Southern Nevada Homebuilders, said Chism's contributions to the way homes are built in Las Vegas is still felt.

"Hank Chism was the epitome of the best of the industry," Porter said. "His integrity, honesty, commitment to his industry, family and community was of the highest order. His humor, love and the Irish twinkle in his eye will be missed by all of us."

Chism is credited as being one of the first builders in the country to use double-pane windows on homes for energy efficiency. He was named builder of the year in 1974 by the Southern Nevada Homebuilders, and in 1997 was given a lifetime achievement award and made a life director by that organization.

When he wasn't working in developments on the ground, Chism liked to get above it all in his Cessna 414, which he flew for many years.

Chism is survived by his wife, Marjorie, son, Don, and daughter, Sharon Milano, all of Las Vegas; his sister, Marian Ritchie, of Biloxi, Miss.; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. at Palm Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Ave. Mass will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Monday at St. Viator Catholic Church, 2461 E. Flamingo Road.

The family asks that donations in Chism's memory be made to Boys Town.