Yerington Monday Sidebar: Joe Dini, Jr.

Yerington Monday Sidebar: Joe Dini, Jr.

A portrait of Joe Dini is seen during the funeral for the former Nevada Assembly Speaker on Tuesday, April 15, 2014, in Yerington, Nev. (Las Vegas Review-Journal/Cathleen Allison)

YERINGTON — More than 500 mourners assembled in the high school gym here on Tuesday to honor the life of “legislative giant” Joe Dini, who died April 10 at the age of 85.

In addition to his extended family and friends, notable elected officials, both current and former, paid tribute to Dini, who served 35 years in the Assembly and a record eight times as speaker.

The rural Nevada Democrat was lauded as a leader who knew how to work with his colleagues from both parties and how to get the state’s business accomplished through compromise. He served in the Assembly from 1967 to 2002, spanning five decades.

Former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan, U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, Rep. Steven Horsford and former Assembly Speakers Richard Perkins and John Oceguera attended the service, among many others. Other elected officials, including Gov. Brian Sandoval, attended a rosary on Monday evening.

Father Jorge Herrera, who officiated at the service, said he recalled Dini telling him when he first came to the community that the two of them “may be the only two Democrats in Yerington.”  Herrera said Dini was an inspiration to him and was “very humble.”

Bryan made some remarks at the service, calling Dini the “Sage from Pizen Switch,” an early name for the agricultural community on the Walker River 60 miles east of Carson City. Bryan recalled being told upon meeting Dini for first time in 1969 as a freshman lawmaker that he had no more “juice” than a dried prune.  “I’d like to think that Joe is here in spirit,” he said. Dini, who knew how to count votes as a consummate lawmaker, no doubt “knew who didn’t show up today and is taking notes,” Bryan joked.

Dini retained his authority in the Legislature even as demographics changed and lawmakers from the more populous Southern Nevada began to assert themselves, he said. “It’s a tribute to his skill, and the respect, and the affection that his legislative colleagues had for him, that during all this period of time, Joe Dini was still their choice as speaker,” Bryan said. Carson City may be the official state capital, but when the Legislature was not in session, Yerington and Dini’s Lucky Club became the de facto capital, he said.

Longtime friend Marty Bibb also spoke about Dini’s life, noting his many legislative accomplishments, from helping craft Nevada’s public education funding plan to representing Nevada during the creation of the bi-state compact with California to oversee development of the Lake Tahoe Basin.  Bibb concluded his remarks by saying it wasn’t “sine die” for Dini, but “merely another one-minute recess.” “We will never forget you but we will always miss you,” he said.

Dini is survived by his wife, Mournye Landing Dini, who he married after his first wife Jeanne, died in 1994. He is also survived by four sons, Jay, George, David and Mike, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. George Dini is the mayor of Yerington.

Former Nevada Assemblyman Joe Dini and his wife, Mouryne, in his Yerington home Tuesday, April 12, 2011.  Mouryne B. Landing Dini worked for the Nevada Legislature for 30 years, serving as Chief Clerk of the Assembly from 1973 until her retirement in 1995. Because of her longstanding service, she was included in the Legislative Oral History Project during an interview that occurred on June 25, 2009 at the Dini home in Yerington. Mrs. Dini first worked for the Legislature as a Committee Secretary in 1965; she later worked as Assembly Journal Clerk and Assistant Chief Clerk and was named Chief Clerk by Speaker Keith Ashworth (D-Clark) in 1973. Her initial posts were all temporary hires for session only as neither house retained staff at that time. She went to work for the Assembly full-time in 1983 when both the Chief Clerk and Secretary of the Senate became permanent positions. Previous Chief Clerks sometimes won and lost their jobs through political patronage, but Mrs. Dini was retained by every Speaker regardless of political party affiliation.

Jeanne Dini Cultural Center

~Photograph by George LeMaitre

The Grammar School No. 9 had been vacated in 1980 and the building was boarded until 1988, when led by the late Jeanne Dini (Joe Dini’s first wife), along with several citizens of Yerington, who came together to rehabilitate the abandoned school. With funds from Nevada State Historic Preservation and private donations the Grammar School No 9 was reopened in 1998 as a theater and cultural center. The $1.8 million restored center was renamed the Jeanne Dini Cultural Center. Today, the center is managed by YTA and is rented by arts organizations such as Through A Child’s Eyes Foundation and the Yerington High School Drama Club along with other local organizations.

Joe Dini Library and Student Center
Carson City Campus
2201 West College Parkway
Carson City, NV 89703

While providing computer access for students, the Joe Dini Library, located on the second floor, offers research databases, publications in print, media services, etc., while the Student Center, located on the first floor, accommodates students and faculty with weight room facilities and is the central location for the Associated Students of Western Nevada student government.

Joseph E. (Joe) Dini, Jr. (March 28, 1929 – April 10, 2014) was a Nevada state assemblyman and casino owner from Yerington, Nevada. In 1996 Dini was ranked the tenth most influential Nevadan in a survey conducted by the Las Vegas Sun, a list that included Steve Wynn, Bill Raggio, then Governor Bob Miller and former Governor Mike O'Callaghan.

Dini was elected to the Nevada State Assembly for the 38th district (which includes Lyon County, Storey County and parts of Carson City) in 1967 and served until 2001 in four special sessions and eighteen regular sessions, making him the longest serving assemblyman in Nevada history.  He served as the Speaker of the Assembly for eight sessions at various times between 1977 and 1999, the most sessions in Nevada Assembly history.  At one point later in his political career he considered running for Governor of the State of Nevada, but did not.  Dini also served as Majority Floor Leader in 1975. He was added to the Assembly Wall of Distinction (established by the Assembly of the Legislature of the State of Nevada to recognize members who have served with great distinction and made exemplary contributions to the State of Nevada) in recognition of his many years of service in the State Assembly and as Speaker of the Assembly.

He died at a hospital in Reno, Nevada on April 10, 2014.

In 1960 Joe Dini, Jr. purchased Dini's Lucky Club (one of two casinos in Yerington, Nevada) from his father Giuseppe "Joe" Dini, Sr., who had opened the now self-proclaimed "oldest family owned casino in Nevada" in 1933 under the name the Wooden Shoe Club. The casino has been owned by his sons George and Jay since 2007 with Joe Dini sitting as "chairman emeritus".

JOSEPH (JOE) E. DINI, JR.

Democrat
Assembly District No. 38
(Lyon and Storey Counties and part of Carson City)
President, Dini's Lucky Club, Inc.

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Born:  1929; Yerington, Nevada.
Educated:  Yerington public schools, Nevada; University of Nevada, B.S. (1951)
Married:  Mouryne Landing Dini.
Children:  Jay, George, David, Michael.
Hobbies:  Coin collecting.

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Legislative Service:  Nevada Assembly, 1967-2001--four special and 18 regular sessions (longest Assembly service in Nevada history); Minority Leader, 1985.  Legislative Commission:  Alternate, 1969-71; Member, 1971-91; Vice Chairman, 1981-82, 1997-98; Chairman, 1982-83, 1993-94.  Member, Interim Finance Committee, 1985-2002; Speaker pro Tempore, 1973; Majority Floor Leader, 1975; Speaker of the Nevada Assembly, 1977, 1987-93, 1997-99 (most sessions as Speaker of the Assembly in Nevada history); Speaker Emeritus 2001; Co-Speaker of the Nevada Assembly, 1995; Chairman, Water Policy Committee, Western Legislative Conference, 1993-94, 1997-98, 1999-2000.

Affiliations:  Yerington Rotary Club; Yerington Volunteer Fire Department; Lyon County Democratic Central Committee; Nevada American Revolution Bicentennial Commission; past District Governor and Active Member, 20-30 Club; Hope Lodge No. 22, F. & A.M.; Kerak Temple Shrine; York Rite; Scottish Rite; Order of Eastern Star.

Personal and Professional Achievements:  Outstanding Senior Advocate, Governor's Conference on Aging, 1994; Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity Distinguished Alumnus, 1993; Yerington Kiwanis Club's Man of the Year, 1989; Distinguished Yerington High School Graduate, 1992; Western States Water Council, 1983, 1999; past President, Yerington Lions Club; past President, Mason Valley Chamber of Commerce; past Chairman, Mason Valley Swimming Pool District; past President, Yerington Rotary Club; Who's Who in America (Marquis); Outstanding Citizen Award, Nevada Education Association, 1973; Gamma Sigma Delta, Honor Society of Agriculture, 1978; Friend of Education Award, Nevada State Education Association, 1986; Citizen of the Year, Nevada Judges Association, 1987; National Conference of State Legislatures' Dedicated and Valued Leadership, 1989; Excellence in Public Service Award, Nevada Trial Lawyers Association, 1990; Conservation Legislator of the Year, Nevada Wildlife Federation, 1991; Silver Plow Award, Nevada Farm Bureau, 1991; SIR Award, Associated General Contractors, 1994; Guardian of Small Business Award, NFIB, 1996; Appreciation Award, Nevada Emergency Preparedness Association, 1998; Special Recognition Award, Nevada State Firefighter's Association, 1998; Friendship Medal of Diplomacy, Taiwan, 2000.

The Right People Series-Joe and George Dini
https://youtu.be/W-qiGL2qRng