60-year friendship started for lifelong Henderson residents before city’s incorporation

For the last 60-plus years, Betty Jo Peisker and Pat Gandrud have been by each other’s side through the good times and the bad.

When Gandrud, 86, died Feb. 25, it was fitting that Peisker was there, too.

“I really miss her,” Peisker said, reaching for a tissue. “I miss having a true friend like her. She was like my sister.”

The two had been friends since before Henderson was incorporated as a city in 1953. Gandrud’s family packed up their home in Montana to move to the Basic Townsite in 1943 when she was 12. Her father planned to open a garage to work on auto repair. Peisker’s family moved the next year, when she was 5.

“I knew her family,” she said. “My brother hung around her brother.”

It wasn’t until 1950 that the girls started hanging out. They had been inseparable ever since. Though they were a few years apart in age, they had a lot in common.

“We both loved sports,” Peisker said.

Gandrud played on a bowling team with her sisters and was on a softball team with Lorna Kesterson, who became Henderson’s first female mayor in 1985.

Donnalee Korthuis, Gandrud’s niece, said a lot of people looked up to her aunt.

“She was my hero,” she said. “I was in awe of her growing up, and I wanted to be just like her.”

Korthuis remembered that her aunt taught her to drive.

“She took me out on Lake Mead (Parkway) and taught me the ins and outs on a stick shift,” she said.

Gandrud graduated from Basic High School and worked a series of jobs before landing her career as a lab technician at Timet. All the while, Gandrud and Peisker lived in the same area of Henderson all their lives — less than a mile away from each other.

They watched as Henderson grew around them.

“We would always talk about how you could get down Boulder Highway in less than 15 minutes,” Peisker said. “That’s not the case now. There are so many stoplights.”

Just as when they were girls, the two continued to bond over sports and remained active in retirement. They signed up for leagues and participated in the senior Olympics through the city of Henderson.

Peisker said golf was a staple in their activities. They either played as a team or competed against each other.

“(Gandrud) was so competitive,” she said. “She won most of the time, but the few times I did win, she got so mad.”

Korthuis said Peisker remained active in family life, too.

“She would always host barbecues at her house where all the generations would get together to play pool volleyball,” she said.

About six years ago, Gandrud was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and began suffering from dementia. Up until about a year ago, she remained somewhat active, Peisker added.

She died in her home in February.

Peisker collected photos of her friend and organized a memorial for her a few weeks ago where about 60 people showed up to celebrate her life. “We all miss her terribly,” Korthuis said. “She lived a great life. She left a lot of great memories.” Peisker continues to look after her friend’s belongings, including her house.

“I will probably sell it,” Peisker said. “It will take time, though.”

Though she plans to go back to golfing, Peisker said it won’t be the same without Gandrud.

To reach Henderson View reporter Michael Lyle, email mlyle@viewnews.com or call 702-387-5201. Find him on Twitter: @mjlyle.