Wife of Strip hotel builder Mason dies

Rebecca Malone

Wednesday, June 27, 2001 | 10:37 a.m.

The days when a woman's only career was to be a good homemaker and housewife are slowly disappearing, but the memories of those "classy ladies" will live on through their families.

"She was a lady," Flora Mason said of her mother-in-law, Agnes Mason. "Everyone who met her said she was a lady."

Agnes Mason died Tuesday morning from natural causes at 89.

"It was her behavior and her looks that made her a lady," Flora Mason said. "She was beautiful, always dressed perfect and always walked straight. It was the way she acted that made her a lady. She was never vulgar or rude. She treated everyone fairly."

Originally from Ohio, Mason moved to Las Vegas in 1965 with her late husband, Morry Mason. She raised their two boys, Stuart and Walter Mason, while her husband raised many of the Strip hotels that made Las Vegas what it is today.

Morry Mason was the general contractor for Taylor International Corp., which built Caesars Palace, the Tropicana, Riviera, Bally's, MGM Grand, Stratosphere and the Las Vegas Hilton.

"Her life here was very much involved in the creation of what we see today," Flora Mason said. "She enjoyed seeing the city develop. One of her favorite outings was to go for a drive and see all the new places."

Not only did she like to watch things develop, she liked to do a bit of creating and developing herself, from painting to baking treats.

Mason also had a playful side, according to her family. Flora Mason said her mother-in-law was raised like a tomboy and was never afraid to try to fit in with her grandchildren when she went out with them.

"There was the Aggie person who loved sports and stuff like that," Flora Mason said. "She loved to find bargains at the indoor swap meet. She was a down-to-earth person."

Flora Mason said Agnes always had very high expectations for herself and anyone who met her saw that through her actions.

"She was a beautiful, very classy lady with a lot of love for her family," Jeanne Gilden, Agnes' sister, said.

She is survived by her two sons, Stuart of Las Vegas and Walter of Irving, Texas; her sister, Jeanne of Laguna Hills, Calif.; four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Services will be held 10 a.m. Thursday at Palm Mortuary, 1325 N. Main St. Burial will be at Woodlawn Cemetery.

The family suggests donations to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, 4220 S. Maryland Parkway, Suite 112, Las Vegas 89119.