Partisans unite again

The seven-rifle volleys fired over the casket of former Gov. Kenny Guinn was a symbolic battlefield gesture to signal the dead had been cared for and the living could resume their fight.

But it was clear many of the mourners packed in the courtyard at St. Joseph, Husband of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Las Vegas weren't ready to leave him behind.

Guinn's son Jeff, 50, doubled over in tears at one point during the honor guard ceremony that brought the two-hour funeral to an end.

Dema Guinn, the former governor's wife of 54 years, barely lifted her hands to receive the flag that had been draped over her husband's coffin.

Sons Jeff and Steve Guinn gently supported her at each elbow as the family escorted the casket toward the hearse.

Bystanders, many of whom were mere acquaintances, cried as police pipes and drums played "Amazing Grace," while paying respects to a man whose eulogies highlighted his uncommon rapport with everyday Nevadans.

"Those eulogies weren't exaggerated at all," said Jerry Engel, 80, of Las Vegas. "That is how we all felt about him."

Engel watched the service with about 30 others in an overflow room across the courtyard from the sanctuary, which was packed with about 1,400 mourners.

Although Engel is a registered Democrat, having lived in Las Vegas for 57 years and followed Guinn, a Republican, he had no qualms crossing party lines to vote for him. Before his stint as governor from 1999 to 2007, Guinn was a school superintendant, bank president, utility executive and interim president of University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a job he agreed to take for a salary of $1.

"You didn't think of him as a politician," Engel said. "You thought of Kenny Guinn as a man of his word."

Guinn died Thursday after falling from the roof of his Las Vegas house where he was clearing out pine needles. He was 73.

Former Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins said Guinn's death came as a shock because he seemed to be in such great health. Where Guinn was when he died wasn't surprising at all.

"He was up on his roof, cleaning off the stuff," Perkins said at a reception after the funeral. "He was not a poor man. He could have hired someone, but that just wasn't Kenny."

While Guinn was considered remarkable for his down-to-earth demeanor and common-man connections, the pews in the main sanctuary were packed with Nevada's political power brokers.

The list of honorary pallbearers was loaded with influential lobbyists and political consultants.

Politicians from both major parties -- including the current and two former governors, the state Senate majority and minority leaders, a U.S. senator and a member of the House of Representatives -- attended the funeral, which was covered live by at least three Las Vegas television stations.

State Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, delivered one of three eulogies.

Raggio joked about visiting the Guinns at the Governor's Mansion and being "the only legislator in America whose governor brought him his coffee in the morning."

The longtime state senator also described how Kenny and Dema Guinn volunteered to knock on voters' doors in 2008 when Raggio was facing a primary challenge from former Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, now the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

He said the former governor didn't cover as much ground as the other volunteers because so many people recognized him and invited him into their homes.

At a few points in the eulogy, Raggio's remarks carried political undertones.

After reading Guinn's quote about leadership being more important than popularity for a governor, Raggio added, "That should be hung on the wall of the state Capitol."

At another point he referenced Guinn's openness to compromise, symbolized by the former governor's frequent visits to the Legislature.

"Unlike some governors, he would frequently leave his office and come to the legislative building," Raggio said. "He was welcomed by all, whether of his party or not, and was able to bring together people on tough issues and to effect necessary compromises."

In attendance was Gov. Jim Gibbons, who has clashed with both Guinn and Raggio.

Pete Ernaut, who managed Guinn's 1998 gubernatorial campaign and became chief of staff, friend and confidant to the former governor, used humor to describe Guinn's patience and persistence.

He recalled the water heater breaking at the Governor's Mansion and Guinn taking cold showers for five days before finally taking action.

Ernaut said Guinn called a maintenance worker and said "bring a wrench and a towel. Because if you don't fix that water heater, you're going to be in that shower with me."

Ernaut also recalled Guinn's serious side, especially when it came to crunching numbers.

"The governor would go over every dollar in every account," Ernaut said. "He knew it meant something. It meant something to a kid in the classroom, a cop on the street, a senior citizen trying to make it, a disabled person trying to live a normal life."

In one instance, Ernaut said, a visit by a troop of Cub Scouts to the Governor's Mansion turned into Guinn giving a lengthy dissertation about the health and human services budget.

"After the third hour, those 9-year-olds started to get it," Ernaut said.

Nearly everyone who recalled Guinn talked about his founding the Millennium Scholarship program, which has helped about 60,000 students attend state colleges and universities and is now named after Guinn.

Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki said Guinn's drive to establish the program was fueled by a hardscrabble childhood as the son of fruit pickers who emigrated from Arkansas to California during the Great Depression.

"Education opened his life, and he wanted to give that same opportunity to every young person in Nevada," Krolicki said.

The scholarship program faces cutbacks in 2011, as the state budget could be upside down by as much as $3 billion. The original source of the funding, a tobacco lawsuit settlement, no longer covers all the bills, and recent budget transfers will cover the program at current levels only through June.

A beer-and-hot dog reception at Palace Station followed the funeral.

"It's the way he would want it," former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan said between bites of a beef frank and sips of Bud Light. "Kenny was not what you'd call a quiche and white wine kind of guy."

An emotional Dema Guinn arrived late to the reception. She was led to a table near the door, where people lined up to express their sympathies, often kneeling on the floor to embrace the former first lady.

Both Perkins and Bryan are Democrats but said it really wasn't an issue when working with Guinn, considered a political moderate who valued compromise and accomplishment over victory and ideology.

Bryan said "moderate" seems to be a dirty word these days, but Guinn demonstrated the value of being able to unite people.

It's a quality Nevada needs right now more than ever, Bryan said. "We're going to have to work together to get out of this."

A private burial is scheduled Thursday in Guinn's childhood hometown of Exeter, Calif.

Review-Journal writer Henry Brean contributed to this report. Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@review journal.com or 702-477-3861.