Henderson deaths

By The Home News

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 | 4:36 p.m.

Raymond Bakula

Raymond F. Bakula, 90, died March 17.

A Henderson resident for 26 years, he was born in St. Paul, Minn., Aug. 22, 1918, and was a retired brewery bottler.

He was a World War II veteran of the Army. He served on the auxiliary board of the Henderson Senior Center and was a member of Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Henderson.

He is survived by daughters Kathyrn Jordet of Henderson, Beverly Kisch of Mendota Heights, Minn., Patricia Stern of Babbitt, Minn., and Lori Geib of St. Paul; son Edward Bakula of Maple Grove, Minn.; and nine grandchildren.

Services were held March 23 with interment March 24 at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City.

The family requests donations to Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Henderson.

Palm Mortuary handled the arrangements.

Denise Jensen

Denise K. Jensen, 68, died March 16 at her home in Henderson.

A resident since 1961, she was born April 13, 1940, in Detroit. She was a homemaker.

She is survived by her husband, Earl Jensen, of Henderson; daughters Beth Rose of Las Vegas, Amy Jones of Camp Point, Ill., and Diana Rewerts of Henderson; sons Lance Yates and Jason Yates of Las Vegas, Terry Jensen of Henderson, Steven Jensen of Sandy Valley and Brian Jensen of Pahrump; sister Shirley Tidwell of Boulder City; brothers Jack Tuttle of Henderson and Ray Tuttle of Sioux Falls, S.D.; 20 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Services were held March 20.

The family requests donations go to Compassion International, Colorado Springs, CO 80997.

Palm Mortuary handled the arrangements.

Clifford Niino

Clifford S. Niino, 72, died March 15 at a local hospital.

A Henderson resident for 18 years, he was born Sept. 12, 1936, in Honolulu. He was a retired electrician.

He is survived by his wife, Adelina Niino, of Henderson; daughters Denise S. Kepoo and her husband, Billy of Kona, Hawaii, and Dawn Niino of Henderson; stepdaughters Reggie Hampp and her husband, James, of Las Vegas, Terri Molloy and her husband, Kevin, of Kona, Hawaii, and Spunky Tayaba-Becks of Kona, Hawaii; stepsons Roque Tayaba Jr. and Al Tayaba of Kona, Hawaii; sisters Carol Todd and her husband, Herman, of Huntington Beach, Calif., and Lucille Shimonishi of Honolulu; brother Douglas Niino of Honolulu; 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. March 28 at Palm Mortuary-Eastern, 7600 S. Eastern Ave., Las Vegas.

Palm Mortuary handled the arrangements.

George Pregman

George Pregman, 83, died March 19 at a local hospital.

A Henderson resident since 1988, he was born Aug. 21, 1925, in Olyphant, Penn., and was a retired aerospace quality control technician. He was a World War II veteran and was awarded the Purple Heart.

He is survived by his wife, Rena Pregman of Henderson; sons Stephen Pregman and his wife, Mildred, of Henderson, George Pregman and his wife, Karen, of Salt Lake City, and Nicholas Pregman of Westminster, Calif.; and four grandchildren.

Arrangements were handled by Palm Mortuary.

Robert Swadell

Robert Swadell, whose name graces Henderson's justice center and whose stamp can be seen on other Henderson civic buildings, died March 15 in Pahrump.

A retired Army lieutenant colonel, Swadell had a military career that included assignments with the CIA, where he also worked as a civilian after retirement, and tours in Korea and Vietnam. He specialized in radar, secure communications and electronic warfare.

He and his wife, Mary, moved to Henderson in 1975, where he became involved in the community, serving as chairman of several committees that planned and oversaw construction of city buildings.

Those buildings included the Henderson Convention Center in 1979, Henderson City Hall in 1987, Emergency Services Facility for the Police and Fire departments in 1991, the justice facility that was named for him in 1993 and the animal shelter in 1994.

He also served on the Henderson Electrical Board, Appellate Board, Industrial Citizens Committee, the Clark County Community College Advisory Board, College of Southern Nevada Electronics Advisory Board, Clark County Pollution Task Force and Clark County Water Task Force.

He also was a consultant on Mexican Assembly operations and served on a congressional committee on the North American Free Trade Agreement, his family said.

He was born June 18, 1931, and graduated from Balboa High School in Panama and the University of Nebraska, Omaha, where he received a bachelor's degree in military science. He also was a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Va.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Mary of Pahrump; sister Mary Rose Shelton and her husband, George; sisters-in-law Loyd Beth and Joice; nieces Karen, Debbie, Laura and Sally; nephews Steven, Carl Eric, David, Mark and Eric; and many grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

He was preceded in death by brothers Carl and Eric.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. April 19 at the Henderson Convention Center, 200 S. Water St. Funeral services at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery will be private.

The family requests that donations be sent to the Robert Swadell Donation Account at Nevada State Bank to benefit Desert View Hospital in Pahrump.

Palm Mortuary handled the arrangements.

Judy Whitehead

Judy Whitehead, 63, died March 22 in North Las Vegas.

A Henderson resident from 1981 until 2004, she was a retired teacher who had taught at Burkholder Middle School. She had lived in the Las Vegas area since 1967. She was born Sept. 2, 1945, in Cortez, Colo.

She is survived by her husband, Richard, of North Las Vegas; daughters Susan Livziey of Las Vegas and Kathy Price and Julie Weddle, both of North Las Vegas; stepson David Whitehead of Las Vegas; mother Gertrude Clever of Grand Junction, Colo.; brother Larry Clever of Grand Junction, Colo.; and seven grandchildren.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. March 28 at Palm Mortuary, 800 S. Boulder Highway, Henderson. Interment will be private.

Palm Mortuary-Henderson handled the arrangements.