Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

At age 101, former lawmaker says compromise key to politics, marriage, life

Wilbur Faiss

Christopher DeVargas

Wilbur Faiss

CARSON CITY — It’s Old Timers Day at the Nevada Legislature, and the state Senate recognized Wilbur Faiss who, at 101 years old, is the oldest living former member of the body.

A resolution adopted by the Senate said Faiss, of North Las Vegas, focused during his two terms on issues of working men and women, senior citizens, education, civil rights and the protection of the environment.

Faiss served in the state Senate from 1976 to 1984.

Senate Resolution 8 says his proudest legacy is the Wilbur and Theresa Faiss Middle School in Las Vegas and his address to the students on the eve of his 100th birthday.

In his talk, Faiss said, “The students who did their best to attend class usually were the best students; those who were better students did better in life; those who always told the truth, who obeyed the rules and who always were fair and considerate in dealing with others became better citizens.”

Faiss and his wife, Theresa, were married for 79 years before her death last year. The resolution said it was “perhaps the longest successful marriage not only in Nevada but in the entire United States.”

The couple arrived in North Las Vegas in 1944, and Faiss was one of the first workers at the Nevada Test Site in the 1950s. He later retired as a member of the Teamsters Union.

The resolution says his most important advice “is to maintain a willingness to compromise” whether it is in life, politics or marriage.

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