Attorney, GOP activist Abbott dies

CARSON CITY -- Longtime Carson Valley attorney and Republican political activist George Abbott died Thursday after suffering a stroke in December. He was 84.

Abbott, a Nebraska native, managed Paul Laxalt's successful U.S. Senate race in 1974, and also was active in Laxalt's successful 1966 bid for Nevada governor.

He also had served as chairman of the state Republican Party and was active in GOP politics for years.

Abbott moved to Nevada after a long stint in Washington, D.C., that began in the 1950s in the Interior Department, where he eventually became an assistant Interior secretary for public land management.

He also served as chief legal counsel for the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee.