Mason, Flora, 1940-

Flora Mason (née Esformes) was born October 23, 1940 in New York City, New York and grew up between New York and Miami Beach, Florida. Mason met her future husband, Stuart Mason in Miami, and they married in 1958. Her husband worked in his family’s business, Taylor International Corporation, and in 1964 he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to build Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino. Mason and their three children, Deborah, William, and James, joined Stuart in Las Vegas in 1965. The Masons initially planned to stay in Nevada only temporarily, but then they both fell in love with the West and Las Vegas, and went on to become active and very influential members of the Las Vegas community.

After beginning her college education at the University of Miami, Mason completed her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), where she also later earned her Master’s degree in English literature. She served as a lecturer in the English department at UNLV, and worked there until her retirement.

Along with her husband, Mason founded the Las Vegas Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation in 1970 and the Mason Undergraduate Peer Coach Program at UNLV Libraries in 2006. She was the first woman elected by the general membership to serve on the Temple Beth Sholom Board of Directors, and she served on the National Board of Directors of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Mason has also been involved with the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Temple Beth Sholom youth group, United Synagogue Youth.