Barbara Greenspun recalled as woman of elegance, principle

Friends and family turned out Thursday to honor Barbara Greenspun, publisher of the Las Vegas Sun and one of Southern Nevada's leading citizens, who died Tuesday at the age of 88.

Her children and grandchildren remembered a woman of elegance and principle who was devoted to them and to her late husband, Hank Greenspun, who bought the paper that would become the Sun in 1950 and was regularly embroiled in causes that kept them in the spotlight.

Barbara Greenspun wasn't always a fan of that, remembered Jane Gale, her daughter.

"She never sought recognition," Gale said. In fact, she once lectured her husband, "Why can't you just be boring for once?"

She was born in 1922 in London and grew up in Ireland. She met Hank at a wedding there, and they quickly married in 1944, and she followed him to Las Vegas in 1946.

She served as treasurer for the Sun for many years and was named co-publisher in the late 1980s. When her husband died in 1989, she took over.

Barbara Greenspun and her family are also known for their community involvement. She supported Jewish and Israeli causes, the arts and youth programs. She has a lecture series at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas named for her. She also had a hand in launching the valley's first TV station, KLAS-TV, as well as a cable television company now operated by Cox Communications.

In 1974, they formed the company that built Green Valley, the first master-planned development in Southern Nevada.

About 1,000 people attended services for her at Congregation Ner Tamid in Henderson, which named its campus the Greenspun Campus for Jewish Life, Learning and Spiritual Renewal.

"I was in awe of my mother," Gale said. "She was the tough one. She taught me how to live."

Family members said doctors had been saying for several years that Greenspun had only a few weeks or months to live. She retained her spirit and good humor to the end, they said, and they were grateful for the extra time they were granted.

The last few days have been made easier by an outpouring of support from people who knew her, said son Brian Greenspun, who is president and editor of the Sun.

"We have known forever that she is in a league of her own, but to hear it from others" is comforting, he said.

"Barbara will not be easy to say goodbye to," he said, noting the stamp she and her husband put on the community. "What I prefer to say is, 'Thank you.'"