Lorin's Obituary

Bunkerville Leavitt patriarch dies

By Glenn Puit
Review-Journal 


      When Lorin Abbott "Dutch" Leavitt died this week he took a piece of Clark County history with him.
      Leavitt, who died at his home on Thursday, was the last of the descendants of a group of Mormons that settled Bunkerville nearly 120 years ago. He was 90.
      Leavitt's son said Friday evening that Bunkerville, which sits 76 miles northeast of Las Vegas and is home to about 2,000 people, has lost one of its most revered figures.
      "He was like the rest of the Leavitt family in that he knew how to work," Leavitt's son, Cecil, said. "He was extremely hard working, honest and fair in his dealings, and as a result, he and the family were able to achieve."
      Leavitt's father, Thomas Dudley Leavitt, was 19 when he rode into what is now Bunkerville with a group of Mormons on Jan. 7, 1877. The group was under the direction of Edward Bunker Sr., and Thomas Dudley Leavitt's presence that day was a piece of family pride that stuck with "Dutch" Leavitt all his life.
      "If you ever got a conversation out of him (about the history of Bunkerville), the first thing he'd say was 'Well, my dad drove the first ox cart into Bunkerville,' " Cecil Leavitt said. "He was always real proud of the family history."
      "Dutch" Leavitt's life was a throwback to the old days of Nevada. He was born into the then polygamist family on Jan. 18, 1909, the youngest of 22 children. He grew up on the family's Bunkerville farm, where the clan survived by growing alfalfa, sweet potatoes, corn and melons.
      He graduated from Virgin Valley schools and worked as a laborer on the Hoover Dam before joining the State Contractor's Board as an inspector.
      He later worked for the Clark County Building Department and took care of building permits and inspection in Bunkerville and the surrounding area. Cecil Leavitt said his father's work ethic allowed him to become one of the patriarchs of the Leavitt family, a clan that has produced Nevada assemblymen, county commissioners and prominent members of the Las Vegas Valley business community.
      "Dutch" Leavitt is survived by his wife, Ethel; three sons, Cecil, Dannie and David; daughters, Sheila Hatridge, Judy Laub and Myrna Miller; all of Bunkerville; 37 grandchildren and 75 great-grandchildren.
      Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the Bunkerville LDS Chapel. Visitation will be from 7 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the Bunkerville Chapel and from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Monday prior to services. Interment will be in the Bunkerville Cemetery.