Editorial: Bryn Armstrong:1916-2007

Wednesday, June 13, 2007 | 7:26 a.m.

B ryn Armstrong, who died Saturday at age 91, was the type of person who always wanted to make a difference, whether as a journalist, civic leader or member of state government.

Armstrong had a successful newspaper career, winning awards for his work, including a series of stories that led to changes in the state's adoption laws. He capped his career with a 14-year tenure as executive editor of the Las Vegas Sun.

At age 61, he retired from the Sun in 1977 to accept an appointment as chairman of the first full-time state Parole Board. Politically, he said, he had been branded as a "bleeding heart" for his laudable efforts to help troubled youth as chairman of the Clark County Juvenile Probation Committee in the 1970s.

Armstrong served on the Parole Board under four governors and then spent three more years as executive secretary of the Nevada Dairy Commission before fully retiring in 1996, at age 80.

During his career, he served in a number of community roles, including as a leader in the state Democratic Party and in the YMCA in Reno and Las Vegas.

A champion of civil rights and children's issues, as well as a keen observer of politics, Armstrong was named to the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2004.

Nevada could use more people like Bryn Armstrong. He will be missed.