Ex-chairman of Taxicab Authority Richard Land dies

Richard Land, former administrator of the Nevada Taxicab Authority who was instrumental in getting security cameras put in taxis, died May 13 at Nathan Adelson Hospice. He was 76.

Land served as chairman of the Taxicab Authority from 2001-2005 and then as administrator until 2007. He had a "great rapport" with the staff, cabdrivers, company owners and unions, said Joe Dahlia, who has worked for 19 years at the Taxicab Authority.

"He was sincere. When you sat down and talked to him, he would listen," Dahlia said. "He really cared and wanted to make a difference."

Born Sept. 16, 1931, in Mt. Zion, Ill., Land was a radio intercept officer in the U.S. Air Force Security Service. He moved to Las Vegas in 1958 and went to work at the Nevada Test Site, starting as a clerk with Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Co. and retiring in 1994 as an administrative executive.

"He was a man of incredible integrity and strength," the Rev. Jim Houston-Hencken, pastor of First Presbyterian Church, said. "He spent so many years working at the Test Site and he never talked about what he did."

Land was a "faithful worshipper" and loved his garden and family, Houston-Hencken said.

Bryan Land, the only child of Richard Land, said his father grew up on a farm and did his chores in the morning and went to school in the afternoon.

"He was very much at peace with his life and with other people," Bryan Land said. "One of his greatest things is he constantly looked for opportunities to help other people, in small ways and in big ways with organizations."

The elder Land was involved in numerous civic and philanthropic endeavors, including the Salvation Army Advisory Board.

"Anything he was involved in, he believed in," Bryan Land said. "And he believed everybody should be treated fairly and equal."

He is survived by his wife, Norma; son, Bryan; brothers, William Land of Shelbyville, Ill., and Robert Land of Phoenix; and sister, Joyce McNeill of Las Vegas.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at First Presbyterian Church of Las Vegas, 1515 W. Charleston Blvd. Donations can be made to First Presbyterian Church or to the Salvation Army.

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.