Forbuss, Robert, 1948-2012

Robert L. "Bob" Forbuss was born in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1948 and grew up in the Huntridge district. Forbuss graduated from Bishop Gorman High School and worked at Caesars Palace while he attended college and began teaching history and debate at his alma mater, Bishop Gorman High School, after college. Forbuss found work as an emergency medical technician at Mercy Ambulance and later became general manager, and then CEO of the business. Throughout his career Forbuss was active in politics. He first ran for Clark County School Board when he was a teacher at Bishop Gorman High School. He served on the Board from 1979 to 1986. Forbuss also served on the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce starting in 1985 and he served two terms as Chamber president in 1999 and 2000. He remained active in politics through his involvement with the gubernatorial campaigns for his close friend, Jan Jones. Forbuss was a prominent figure for Las Vegas' gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community and he played a critical role to repeal Nevada's sodomy law in the 1990s. Forbuss was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in 2010 and succumbed to the disease in 2012. His presence and legacy continued in the Las Vegas community when the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada moved into the new Robert L. Forbuss Building in downtown Las Vegas in 2013 and with the opening of the Robert L. Forbuss Elementary School in the southwest valley of Las Vegas.

Source:

Davis, Richard. "A Tale of Two Bobs: Bob Forbuss." QVegas, July 2011.