Thomas Lynn Pursel

Thomas L. Pursel, 90, loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, passed away April 3, 2017, surrounded by his loving family. He was born Jan. 13, 1927, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Thomas, his parents, John William and Madge Pursel, and his four siblings moved to Las Vegas in 1939. Thomas graduated from Las Vegas High School in 1945 and joined the U.S. Navy, where he served with honor during World War II. After honorable discharge, he attended college in Reno and Los Angeles graduating from California State University. He went on to attend law school at American University in Washington, D.C. and received his Juris Doctorate. While in Washington, D.C., he met his beloved wife, Joan, and they were married for 53 years until her passing in 2012. Thomas was admitted to the Nevada Bar in 1959 and went on to practice law for more than 45 years. In his early professional career, Thomas was a Justice of the Peace in the 1960's and handled many complex jury trials. He later went in to practice with his brother, Jack Pursel, at their law firm of Pursel & Pursel Ltd., followed by the opening of Thomas L. Pursel, Ltd., where he continued his distinguished career focusing on ERISA, subrogation law and commercial litigation. Thomas was an active member of St. Anne's Catholic Church for more than 30 years and participated in many fundraising events. He was also an active UNLV booster and held season tickets to the Runnin Rebels, enjoying traveling with his wife, Joan, and friends to the many tournaments across the country. He was an avid sports fan and in particular enjoyed cheering on Notre Dame and travelling to see them play. In his early years, he was active in coaching youth sports teams in little league and basketball. He was known for inviting the entire team to his home for barbeques and dinner after games and loved having a full house. He was also an avid golfer his entire life and enjoyed many rounds of golf at the Desert Inn Country Club. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Joan, his parents; and siblings, Richard Pursel, Jeane Chretien and Jack Pursel. Thomas is survived by his three loving children, Thomas K. Pursel, Daniel (Lisa) Pursel and Jill (Paul) Vukasin; his four adoring grandchildren, Lauren (Michael) Lambert, Ryan and Dylan Vukasin, and Grace Pursel; and his two precious great-grandchildren, Makayla and John Lambert; and brother, William (Mac) Pursel. Visitation will be 5-7 p.m. Thursday, April 20, with Rosary 6-7 p.m., both at Palm Mortuary, 1600 S. Jones Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89146. Funeral Mass will be at 1 p.m. Friday, April 21, at Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church, 3050 Alta Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89107. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, keepmemoryalive.org.