Longtime reporter Ralya dies at 77

Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2000 | 10:27 a.m.

The words at the bottom of Jerry Ralya's personal business cards perhaps best sum up his life -- "journalist, consultant, a nice guy."

But behind his gentle demeanor and constantly smiling eyes, Ralya was an aggressive, old-school newspaperman, who during five decades chronicled the District Court and other beats for two Las Vegas dailies and other publications.

"He was a fiercely competitive reporter, but he also had a good sense of humor, and he was a real sweet guy," said former Sun City Editor Chris Chrystal, who competed against Ralya when he was the county and court reporter for the Review-Journal in the early 1970s and later was his co-worker at the Sun.

Ralya was working as a reporter and rewrite man for the "This Week in Summerlin" newspaper on Thursday when, after complaining of chest pains to his editor, he was taken to Desert Springs Hospital, where he died that night. He was 77.

An official cause of death was not immediately available for the Las Vegas resident of nearly 40 years, who in the last year had two surgeries for brain clots.

Services are pending. Palm Mortuary-Eastern is handling the arrangements.

After a career in which he covered courts and government for the daily newspapers, Ralya, in semi-retirement, wrote a story in Las Vegas Style magazine that noted attorney Oscar Goodman was contemplating a run for Las Vegas mayor, a seat he would win in his first bid for public office.

"Jerry was the Real McCoy -- a decent, honest reporter who you knew would get the story right," Goodman said Monday night. "He translated what you said into facts without adding his opinion or hyperbole."

Goodman recalled what was both his first murder case and Ralya's first murder case coverage for the Review-Journal in the late 1960s -- that of Louis Crockett, who was accused of killing an informant.

"I told Jerry after the conviction that 'my client is gutty,' " Goodman said. "Jerry got it right in the story, but an editor quoted me in a headline as saying, 'My client is guilty.' Jerry was heartsick over it, but it bonded us. And Jerry covered the story when I got the case reversed by proving someone else committed the murder."

Others remembered Ralya's gentle disposition that well masked his competitive spirit.

"Whenever you ran into Jerry, it made your day so much nicer -- so much brighter," said former Sun reporter Ed Dodrill, a longtime friend. "He had so many health problems in the last year, but he never talked about them. He was always so positive.

"A few days after his first operation, Jerry went right back to work, wearing a hat to cover his shaved head and the staples from surgery. He felt he had to keep busy."

Former Sun court reporter Bill Gang, who today is the District Court's statewide court program coordinator, said, "the thing that made Jerry a good court reporter was that he had graduated from law school and had a good understanding of the documents that were filed and the court's procedures.

"But he never took the bar (exam) because he had no interest in becoming a lawyer."

Several colleagues said one of the secrets to Ralya's success was his dedication to tracking down sources -- judges, attorneys, whomever -- in local bars after hours and drinking with them until their tongues became loose with information.

Born Oct. 18, 1922, Ralya was raised in Michigan. He served in the Army infantry in Gen. George Patton's division in Europe during World War II and returned to Michigan after the war to work as an insurance adjuster.

Ralya came to Las Vegas in the early 1960s and got a job as a dealer before the Review-Journal hired him in the late 1960s.

In 1971 Ralya married international figure skater Suzanne Park, who as Snow White in Disney's first overseas skating production gave a command performance for Queen Elizabeth II. The Ralyas had a daughter, Rosana, in 1974. Park, who also performed at several Las Vegas hotels, preceded Jerry in death by three years and one day.

Ralya was hired by the Sun on March 15, 1977. He covered Las Vegas City Hall and District Court and also served as assistant city editor. He left on July 23, 1992. In semiretirement, Ralya worked part time for the Latitude newspapers, which includes the Summerlin weekly, and for various area magazines as a free-lance writer.

In addition to his daughter, who lives in San Francisco, Ralya is survived by a sister in Michigan. He was preceded in death by his two brothers.