Saturday, March 06, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Prominent Nevadans remember O'Callaghan's warmth, honesty, integrity
Former Nevada Gov. Mike O'Callaghan is shown in an undated photo. The Las Vegas Sun's executive editor and chairman of the board, O'Callaghan died Friday at Desert Springs Hospital after suffering what is believed to have been a heart attack during Mass at St. Viator Catholic Church. He was 74.
The Associated Press photo.
Wayne Newton
Harry Reid
Oscar Goodman
Paul Laxalt
Steve Wynn
Kenny Guinn
Bob Miller
Brian Greenspun
Stan Hunterton
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"Mike meant so much to our family and me. ... I don't know where I'd be today without his friendship and counsel. No doubt, heaven is a brighter place today, and our world not so bright. However, we can all rest assured Mike has gone ahead to check it out for the rest of us, because that's how he is."
WAYNE NEWTON
Las Vegas entertainer
"He was the most moral man I ever knew. When we campaigned together, it used to drive me crazy because he followed every speed limit. He was just a very honest man."
HARRY REID
U.S. senator, D-Nev.
"I'm around people who think they're important. Here was a man who was important, and he always treated you with warmth and dignity and never pulled rank."
OSCAR GOODMAN
Las Vegas mayor
"Like the boxer he was, Mike fought tenaciously on behalf of those causes in which he believed so deeply, such as prison reform, fair housing and providing help to workers injured on the job."
PAUL LAXALT
Former Nevada governor, U.S. senator
"Mike's philosophy was his own. No group could lay claim to his devotion. ... What was magnificent about this man was, in fact, that whether his philosophy put him on your side or on the other side at any given moment, one always respected the integrity of his thinking. He will be missed and cannot be replaced."
STEVE WYNN
Gaming entrepreneur and executive
"I knew that I had a friend and could speak freely with him. Mike O'Callaghan set a standard in this office that I have always worked to maintain. I lost a friend and a role model."
KENNY GUINN
Nevada governor
"So many people that just moved to here will never realize ... he made Nevada the place where they want to live."
BOB MILLER
Former Nevada governor
"Mike always directed his efforts toward the people who needed help. His reward was knowing that he did the right thing."
BRIAN GREENSPUN
Las Vegas Sun editor and president
"He was proof you could be in politics and the news business and be a decent person, despite all the evidence to the contrary. He had that quality that when he's talking to you, you're the only person in the room that matters."
STAN HUNTERTON
Las Vegas attorney
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