State Sen. Dina Titus’ father, Joe, dies at 76

CARSON CITY -- The father of longtime Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, died in his sleep early Tuesday in his Las Vegas home after an apparent heart attack.

Joe Titus was 76. He served 16 years as director of the building and safety department for the city of Henderson before his retirement several years ago.

Funeral services will be conducted in Tifton, Ga. Since his retirement from the Henderson job, he and his wife, Betty, had been spending about half of each year in Southern Nevada and half in Georgia.

"He was a son of the South," Dina Titus said about her father. "He could tell a story better than anyone."

Joe Titus encouraged his daughter, a member of the state Senate since 1989, to run for office. But he lived outside her state Senate district and got his first chance to vote for Dina Titus last year during her unsuccessful run for governor. Campaign staff members called him "Papa Joe."

"He came from a family of Democrats," Titus said. "He was a diehard Democrat who cussed at the TV whenever George Bush came on."

During his time as the building department director in Henderson, Joe Titus "oversaw the tremendous growth" of the city, Dina Titus said.

He had previously served as director of the building department in Tifton and had operated motels, restaurants and shopping centers in Georgia.

Besides his wife, Betty, and his daughter, Dina, Joe Titus is survived by another daughter, Rho, who is a schoolteacher in Southern Nevada.

Members of the family requested that no flowers be sent to them. Instead they prefer kind thoughts and prayers, Dina Titus said.

A memorial service is to be held in Las Vegas sometime in September.