Former utility president dies at 47

Thursday, Dec. 27, 2001 | 9:44 a.m.

Steve Rigazio, who retired as president of Nevada Power Co. in June and then focused on the battle against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, died of the disease at about 2 a.m. this morning, Nevada Power said.

He was 47.

Rigazio, an executive with Nevada Power since 1984, was diagnosed with ALS, a degenerative disorder that attacks motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, in August 1999. The disease has been associated with former New York Yankee baseball player Lou Gehrig, who was diagnosed with it 60 years ago.

"He waited 'till all his family was there," said Andrea Smith, a Nevada Power spokeswoman.

Rigazio established a foundation called Nevadans for Prevention of ALS and had helped raise money for the ALS Association Nevada Chapter and for ALS patients in Nevada.

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