Letter: Armstrong was great Nevadan

Thursday, May 6, 2004 | 9:06 a.m.

To those of us who knew and worked with Leola, words can't do her justice.

Ironically, the last time I "saw" Leola was when Mike O'Callaghan passed away. The TV stations were running archival footage of Mike delivering a State of the State speech and there was Leola, sitting at his right hand in her position as secretary of the Senate. I remember thinking what a couple of uncontrollable forces of nature they were and how it had never been wise to arouse their sense of outrage by abusing power or betraying the public trust. Several legislators learned that first hand when Mike and Leola came together to defeat the legislators' plan to quadruple their own pensions in 1989.

Leola could brighten your day in some of the oddest ways. When she informed me she had become a Republican and was working to defeat the Democrats in her new home in Washington state, I couldn't stop laughing. To her long-term friends and colleagues, this had to be one of the greatest political jokes of all time. It was also typical Leola. If the Dems had lost their way and wouldn't listen and the Republicans would, then a lifetime of Democratic activism was history. It's simply who she was.

I offer my sincere condolences to Leola's family and friends. I share your loss but also the joy we all carry with us for having known a great Nevadan.

KNIGHT ALLEN