Never having previously run for political office, Kenny served from 1999 to 2007 as the 27th Governor of Nevada. He quickly developed a reputation as a tough, pragmatic leader more interested in getting things done for the State of Nevada than pushing a partisan political agenda.
During his tenure as Governor, he successfully overhauled government agency operations, revamped budgeting and tax collections, created the Guinn Millennium Scholarship Program, oversaw the privatization of the state workers compensation system, vetoed plans to bury nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain and became an expert on the Nevada budget. While Kenny vehemently opposed President George W. Bush on Yucca Mountain, they nevertheless enjoyed an enduring friendship.
In 2005, Kenny was named by Time magazine as one of the five best governors in America.
Kenny’s own words from his 2001 State of the State Address explain his definition of success -- “I believe we must measure success by how we are able to care for the most fragile of our citizens - our children, our elderly, and those who are disabled. We cannot afford to do everything, but there are some things we can't afford not to do.”
To that end, Kenny was most proud of the programs created during his tenure that helped those who needed help the most. While traveling the state, Kenny heard stories of seniors who could not afford both medication and food. He created the Nevada Senior Rx Program to assist Nevada’s seniors with their medication costs. Kenny and his wife, Dema, also lent their full support to the Nevada Mammovan program, which provides mammograms and gynecological exams to uninsured women in Nevada. The first couple also committed themselves to promoting the Nevada Check Up program for children. When he took office, only 1,800 children were enrolled; at the end of his tenure as governor, the program had 30,000 children enrolled.
He was born to parents Clifford and Virgie Guinn on August 24, 1936 in Garland, Arkansas. His parents moved Kenny and his older brother Chuck and younger sisters Shirley and Linda to Exeter, California. It was in the third grade in Exeter where Kenny met his best friend and partner in life, Dema Lee Lane.
Kenny was a multisport star for Exeter Union High School, competing in football, basketball and swimming, A classmate's father, who was head of the local school board, helped Kenny get college-track classes in high school instead of the agriculture, wood shop and auto shop courses that were offered to most students. This simple gesture led to Kenny’s lifetime commitment to learning and to his unwavering dedication to a strong public education system for young people.
But his main interest in high school remained his sweetheart Dema, who he took to his Senior Prom and later married in Reno, Nevada in 1956.
An honor student in high school, Kenny was awarded an athletic scholarship to USC and later transferred to Fresno State University, where he played football and basketball while earning a degree in physical education. He earned a master's in physical education at Fresno State, began Doctoral studies at Stanford University and later earned a doctorate in 1970 from Utah State.
In June of this year, Kenny was honored by the largest ever graduating class at Fresno State with an Honorary Doctorate.
In 1964, Kenny and Dema moved to Las Vegas, where he agreed to join the Clark County School District as an administrator. Five years later, he was named superintendent of the Clark County School District.
Guinn left the school district in 1978 to become a bank executive and later became Chairman and CEO of Southwest Gas Company. He also served for one year as interim president of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas before seeking the governor's office. Understandably, education always remained at the forefront of his priorities. He once said, “Education is not on my agenda; education is my agenda.”
Following his terms as Governor, Kenny was a member of the Board of Directors of MGM Resorts International and served on many charitable and community boards and panels.
Kenny was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Dema; his sons Jeffrey and his wife Monica, and Steven and his wife Wynn; grandchildren Blake Guinn, Austin Guinn, Colton Guinn, Hannah Guinn, Ryan Guinn, and Sarah Guinn; brother Chuck Guinn and his wife Doris, and sisters Shirley Blair and her husband Jay, and Linda Rieke and her husband Gary.
A rosary celebrating Kenny’s life will be held Monday, July 26 at 7pm at St. Joseph, Husband of Mary Catholic Church located at 7260 W. Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas. A funeral mass will be held on Tuesday, July 27 at 10 am at St. Joseph, Husband of Mary Catholic Church.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Kenny C. Guinn Memorial Millennium Scholarship Fund, c/o State Treasurer's Office, 101 North Carson Street, #4, Carson City, NV 89701.
Kenny never met a stranger, never turned anybody away and always believed that if you worked hard and treated people the way you wanted to be treated, you would never have a worry.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18