At Ralph Lamb’s funeral, Sheriff Joe Lombardo hails his wisdom

Ralph Lamb, Clark County’s legendary former sheriff, was remembered Friday as a strong and honorable leader who gave much to his community.

Among those who spoke at Lamb’s funeral was current Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who called Lamb a new friend.

“At services like this, words like ‘hero,’ ‘courage’ and ‘sacrifice’ are often overused, so that they come close to losing their impact,” Lombardo said. “I will say each of those words would honestly describe Ralph and his legacy.”

Lombardo recalled how Lamb, who died last week at the age of 88, reached out to him when he decided to run for sheriff. He said Lamb conveyed some wisdom, but mainly wanted to talk about law enforcement and “all things good and evil.”

Through their conversations, Lombardo said, they immediately became friends.

“Sheriff Lamb had a great sense of humor and would always share great wisdom and was still concerned about all things good and evil,” Lombardo said.

Former Clark County sheriffs Jerry Keller and Bill Young also attended the service.

Hundreds turned out for the funeral, which lasted about an hour at the Alta Vista Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 10550 W. Alta Drive. It was followed by a graveside service at Bunkers Memory Gardens Cemetery, 7251 W. Lone Mountain Road.

Considered by many to be one of the most powerful men in the state during the 1970s, Lamb converted the Clark County Sheriff’s Department from a mostly rural force to a sophisticated urban agency. He was largely responsible for its 1973 consolidation with the Las Vegas Police Department into the present Metropolitan Police Department.

He ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 1958, beaten by incumbent Butch Leypoldt. In 1961 Leypoldt was appointed to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and the County Commission named Lamb as his replacement. Lamb won the election in 1962 and was sheriff for 18 years, longer than any other sheriff has held the job.

Lamb’s most active years in law enforcement coincided with rapid growth in the gaming industry, and much of that growth was controlled by people associated, at least formerly, with organized crime. To keep out the worst of that element, Lamb got the County Commission to pass the “work card law,” which required anyone working in gaming to be fingerprinted and photographed and to notify the sheriff if they moved to another job.

Through the work card law Lamb controlled who could or could not work in the city’s key industry and many peripheral jobs. Unlike most police chiefs, he was answerable only to voters.

At Lamb’s funeral, longtime casino mogul Steve Wynn reminisced about the “good ole days” of Las Vegas in the mid-196os, when “fugitive gamblers” came to the community looking for legitimacy.

“The place ran like a Swiss watch,” Wynn said.

Wynn, who developed a friendship with Lamb, said, “Ralph made you feel safe.”

Wynn told those in attendance they would all eventually “be guests of honor” at their own funerals.

“I hope that when that day comes, that everybody in the room is feeling about you at that moment, in their hearts and their minds, the way we’re feeling about Ralph Lamb right this minute. Because if that’s true, we’ve had a hell of a life,” Wynn said, drawing applause.

Lamb’s career as a Western lawman became the basis of the 2012-13 CBS series “Vegas.” Dennis Quaid played Lamb as a cowboy dragooned into the lawman’s role and battling with organized crime characters trying to take over the town. Though loosely based on Lamb’s career and historically inaccurate, the show garnered good reviews but still lasted just one season.

Producer Arthur Sarkissian spoke at Lamb’s funeral and said about 10 million people watched “Vegas” each week it aired. Sarkissian said Lamb, whom he met in 2004, was a father figure to him.

A video presentation at the funeral included numerous pictures of Lamb wearing a cowboy hat and riding a horse.

Lamb’s flag-draped casket was later surrounded by relatives, friends and members of law enforcement at the cemetery, where Lamb was honored with a 21-gun salute and an empty saddle presentation. The presentation featured a riderless horse with boots facing backward in the stirrups.

Lombardo exchanged a few private words with Lamb’s widow after presenting her with the flag from the casket.

Lamb is survived by his wife, the former Rae Cornell; two sons, Cliff and Clint; two grandchildren and his brother, former Clark County Commissioner Darwin Lamb. He was preceded in death by his five brothers, Floyd Lamb, Sheldon Lamb, Phil Lamb and Larry Lamb, and four sisters, Myrtle Howery, Erma McIntosh, Fae Mason and Wanda Peccole.

Lamb was born April 10, 1927, in Alamo, a small ranching community about 95 miles north of Las Vegas, in Lincoln County. He was 11 years old when his father was killed in a rodeo accident, leaving 11 children.

He served with the Army in the Pacific Theater during World War II and its aftermath, then returned to Nevada, becoming a Clark County deputy sheriff. A former MP, Lamb soon became chief of detectives. He left the department in 1954 to form a private detective agency.

Review-Journal writer Colton Lochhead contributed to this report.

Contact Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710. Find her on Twitter: @CarriGeer