In 1961, at the age of thirteen, Gerald ?Jerry? Gordon became a bar mitzvah. This typical coming of age celebration was unusual in that he had simultaneously studied in both his home state of California and his adopted home of Las Vegas, where he spent summers with his grandparents. 1961 is also the same year that the Gordons made Las Vegas their permanent home. Jerry graduated from Las Vegas High School, attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas and earned his law degree from University of California, Los Angeles. His gregarious and trustworthy personality led him to career building steps in the legal community of Las Vegas that included illustrious names such as Louis Wiener, Jr., David Goldwater, Neil Galatz, and many others. His personal law specialty became bankruptcy, especially dealings with hotel/casinos. As a member of the Jewish community, Jerry?s energy and expertise to organize was instrumental in the construction of Congregation Ner Tamid, the reform synagogue, at its site on Valle Verde and I-215. It was a multi-year process and includes a vast array of stories?a cash donation from Moe Dalitz, finalization of receiving of a donation land from the Greenspun family during the High Holy Days, and the ongoing challenges of a building campaign during a recession. In addition, he explains that CNT included two unique negotiations: 1) a cell tower and 2) a solar field on the synagogue?s property. Jerry and his wife Yvonne met while attending UNLV. Yvonne taught math at various levels in the Clark County School District. They raised their two children, Sara and Jeffrey, in Las Vegas, and forged an important role together in Congregation Ner Tamid. In April 2017, they were among those honored for their work with the synagogue.
Elizabeth Frances, born in Laramie, Wyoming in 1931, was the fourth of nine children. Her father was a plasterer until WWII, when he went to work in the shipyards in Washington State. The family then moved to Salem, Oregon, and Elizabeth attended high school there through her junior year. She actually finished high school in Saratoga, Wyoming, becoming the first of her siblings to graduate. Elizabeth married the same year she graduated (1949) and followed her husband's quest for work to Oregon and California. It was in Santa Rosa that she entered into university course work for her LPN degree. Once they moved to Las Vegas, she entered the LPN program at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital (now UMC) and graduated in 1965. During her five years in the ER at Memorial Hospital, Elizabeth entered the two year RN program at UNLV, graduating in 1971. She left the hospital to work for Dr. Fink for two years. She shares descriptions, explanations, and anecdotes about her time there, including much of the on-the-job training she received from the doctor. In 1973, Elizabeth was offered the opportunity to teach at the LPN school she had started with, and she also went back to UNLV for her baccalaureate degree (1977). She worked for Workmen's Compensation for four years and details the team components, job requirements, and the new-found respect that the teams garnered from doctors. Elizabeth was called to Sunrise Hospital in 1978 to fill a new position under the education department and worked there for 18 years. Though she has seen many innovations in medicine due to advancing technology, Elizabeth believes that basic nursing skills involving observation and knowledge of the patient are still of primary importance. After retirement, Elizabeth began working full time for the museum in Lorenzi Park. She worked in all areas and was docent for many years. She and other docents created their own program and study, travel, and read to further their art education. Elizabeth paints in oils and watercolors, has held exhibitions, and recently built an art gallery in her own home.