Larry P. Mason, School Board Trustee,
Clark County School District

STILL BASKING IN the afterglow from receiving the Hispanic of the Year Award for 2006 from the Latin Chamber of Commerce of Nevada, something he had always hoped that he would get, and earlier being reelected without opposition to his fourth term on the Board of School Trustees for the Clark County School District, plus being employed in a high-paying job with the Chancellor’s office in the Nevada System of Higher Education, Larry Mason was sitting on top of the world. He had everything he wanted and life was good.

Fate, however, was about to step in and change Larry’s life. On Friday, December 1, 2006, Larry was not feeling well and went to see his doctor where he had some tests run. He then went home to get some rest and shut off his cell phone. Later that evening his physician, Dr. Bashab Banerji, tried to reach Larry to discuss the results of the tests.

 

Not being able to get in touch with Larry, Dr. Banerji decided to send some firefight-ers to Larry’s house. Regrettably, when they arrived at his house they did not know or remember the name of the person they were looking for or the doctor’s name. Therefore, when they told Larry that they were looking for someone with leukemia, Larry explained to them that he did not have leukemia and that they definitely had the wrong house.

 

A half-hour later at about 1:45 a.m. a policeman showed up at Larry’s door and he too was told that he had the wrong house. Just then, however, the telephone rang and it was Dr. Banerji who told Larry that it was imperative that he get to a hospital. “You have acute leukemia” he said. With that bizarre notification, Larry’s life was turned upside down. In the ensuing days, Larry called his closest friends and told them the bad news. I will never forget hearing Larry tell me that he had leukemia. I held the telephone in stunned silence and then lost my composure. After a good cry, Larry told me how hard it had been for him to call me knowing that my brother, Richard, had died from leukemia only two years earlier.

 

Almost immediately word of Larry’s condition spread throughout the Hispanic community in Las Vegas. In the next few days newspaper articles were also printed about Larry’s illness, including a large story relating the circumstances about how Larry learned that he had leukemia. In my twenty-six years in Las Vegas I can’t recall anyone’s illness being so highly publicized, with the exception of the time one of our Governors learned that he had prostrate cancer.

 

Not surprisingly, the publicity surrounding Larry’s illness resulted in a remarkable outpouring of support and Larry’s room at Sunrise Hospital resembled Grand Central Station for a couple of weeks. Larry told me recently that about 350 people visited him while he was in the hospital. One example of how the Hispanic community showed its support for Larry was a blood drive held at the Latin Chamber of Commerce offices. Organized by Andres Ramirez, his wife, Jackie, and Larry’s old friend, Victoria Napoles, over 22 units of blood were donated in a single day.

 

When asked to comment on the tremendous support shown to him, Larry said “The energy and love all around me is incredible. It’s lifted me up emotionally and physically and I now feel that I can take on anything that comes my way. I’m going to beat this!” Larry also expressed his gratitude to all of the friends who have taken time out of their lives to visit him. “I am so blessed, it really humbles you and puts life into perspective.”

 

As a close friend of Larry’s for the past twenty-two years, his illness reminded me again of how important it is to use your time on this earth wisely and to never lose sight of the fact that the things that are most important in life are family and friends and the good things that you do for others. As long as I have known Larry, he has exemplified those things in his personal and professional lives. He is an exceptional friend to many, many people, takes care of and loves his family, and has dedicated most of his adult life to improving education for youth in his community.

 

It was extremely fitting, therefore, that just a few weeks before learning of his illness, Larry was honored by the Latin Chamber of Commerce with the prestigious Hispanic of the Year Award for 2006, and that on hand to share Larry’s honor that evening were his significant other, Eloise, his brother, Ron, and four of his six children, Yvette, E.J., Desiree, and Tiffany.

 

As the person who nominated Larry for the Hispanic of the Year Award, I take great satisfaction in the fact that my friend’s name and accomplishments will forever be enshrined in the history of our organization and that his longtime service to the youth of our community was at last recognized and honored.