Ralph Denton was born September 8, 1925. He received his education in law school alongside longtime friend and Nevada governor, Grant Sawyer. Denton worked on campaigning, eventually landing a job as Sawyer’s advisor after he became governor. Denton also worked as a Clark County, Nevada Commissioner and a district attorney in Esmeralda County, Nevada. He passed away July 6, 2012.
Rabbi Felipe Goodman was born January 04, 1964 in Mexico City, Mexico. Rabbi Goodman was previously assistant Rabbi at Mexico City's Comunidad Bet-El de Mexico, one of the largest conservative synagogues in Latin America. He was a member of the Executive Committee of The Rabbinical Assembly and the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) National Leadership Council He also served as president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern Nevada.
Dr. John S. Wright was born in Enid, Oklahoma to Ethel and Thomas Clayton Wright on May 1, 1910. He spent his youth in Newton, Illinois, and received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from the University of Illinois. He married Lucille Wilson in 1939. During World War II, he served in the United States Army He earned his doctorate from the University of Chicago. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1956 to teach at Nevada Southern University, now known as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Iona McWilliams was married to J. T. McWilliams, an early settler to the Las Vegas, Nevada area. Iona Ida McWilliams was born in 1876, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She was sent to school to learn to be a school teacher in Philadelphia. She later developed a lung ailment and her doctor suggested moving to Needles, California as a form of treatment. Iona met J. T. McWilliams in Needles and the two married in 1897. In 1898, she had a daughter that the couple named Emily Eleanor, often called Nellie. Iona McWilliams died in May of 1969 at age 92.
Jay Swayze was a general building contractor from Plainsview, Texas. In 1961, he and his brother Kenneth built the first Atomitat in Plainsview and subsequently formed the World Underground Homes Corporation. He went on to build both of Jerry Henderson's underground homes in Boulder, Colorado as well as Las Vegas, Nevada. He and his brother also built an underground house exhibit at the 1964 World's Fair in Queens, New York City, New York.