By james art 
Teacher -teran and former North Las Vegas Advisor Theron Gines – who broke a glass ceiling, his daughter would later clean – he died on Monday. He was 95.
“Theron Hulan Gines was more than a father for me,” North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Gines-Brown wrote in a statement on Tuesday. “He was a mentor and tireless public service and education champion.”
Add the first black mayor to Nevada’s history: “His dedication to our community and his belief in the power of education left an indelible imprint of northern Las Vegas and beyond.”
Gines-Brown credit his parents for his life in public service.
Only last year did she lose her mother Naomi Delores Jackson Gines.
The patriarch of the family was born in Texarkana, Texas, in 1929 he studied business administration at the Prairie View A & M and served in the US Air Force.
Theron Gines and his wife moved to South Nevada to continue their educational career in the Clark school district.
He was a teacher, advisor, assistant director and director, “winning a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of North Arizona,” says the city. “Trailblazer in education, public service and community leadership, Goynes was a dedicated defender of progress and justice throughout his remarkable life.”
Theron Gines was elected to the City Council, where he served for two decades, more than half the time as mayor Pro Tempore or a second command.
“On September 16, 1981, he made history as the first African -American representative in Nevada, who officially heads a government body, chairing a meeting of the Municipal Council in the absence of the mayor,” the city said. He fell into his own offer for mayor.
“Remarkable achievements”
After the then advisor Gines-Brown won her mayoral race in 2022, she told Las Vegas Review-Journal that her father would take her children to work.
“We grew up, we were always in the town hall,” she said. “It was the old building on the other side of the street because we could play on the grass while they were in meetings.”
She added: “But sometimes he will make us go inside and listen to it. And I don’t think then we realized that we were actually learning. “
Gain-Brown followed the footsteps of his parent, serving as a teacher for decades, before being elected to the Council in 2011. She was also mayor of Temp.
Her parents – who would try to catch any of the meetings of the Municipal Council of their daughter – attended her taking office. Her father was holding the Bible she used to take an oath.
Theron Goynes plays an important role in the renaming of Highland elementary school after Kermit R. Booker -Senchi and the establishment of Martin Luther King Boulevard in 1989.
For the contribution of the couple to education, Gines and Jackson Gines were honored in 2005 as the namesake of Stem Academy Theron H. and Naomi D. Goynes in North Las Vegas.
Theron H. Goynes Park opened in 1998
“This is a reward for all the work I did, so I just had to tell you thank you. I deserve it, “said Theron Gines in 2012 about the dedication of the park. “I have no regret. Despite moving through the integration program, I went forward. “
At that time, Gain said it was important to say his achievements as a way to inspire the community.
“I want everyone to feel like I,” he said.
Meanwhile, the city is thinking about Theron Gines’ heritage.
“As the city of North Las Vegas remembers Theron Hulan Gines, we celebrate his remarkable achievements and his unwavering commitment to progress and justice,” the city writes. “His influence and impact will be felt for the coming decades.”
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at [email protected].