Whereas Paul Dominique Laxalt was born to Dominique Laxalt and Therese (Alpetche) Laxalt on August 2, 1922, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Reno, Nevada; Whereas Dominique Laxalt and Therese Laxalt were immigrants from the Basque region in Europe; Whereas Dominique Laxalt was a sheepherder and Therese Laxalt operated a family-owned hotel in Carson City, Nevada; Whereas Paul Laxalt was the oldest child and sibling to Robert, Suzanne, John, Marie, and Peter; Whereas Paul Laxalt attended Carson High School, where he was student body president and played on the 1938 State basketball champion team; Whereas Paul Laxalt served his country in the United States Army as a medic during World War II and saw action at the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines; Whereas Paul Laxalt married Jackalyn Ross in 1946 and had 6 children: Gail, Sheila, Michelle, Kevin, Kathleen, and John Paul; Whereas Paul Laxalt attended Santa Clara University and graduated from law school at the University of Denver in 1949; Whereas Paul Laxalt served as district attorney for Ormsby County, Nevada, from 1951 to 1954; Whereas Paul Laxalt served as Nevada Lieutenant Governor from 1963 to 1967; Whereas Paul Laxalt ran for the United States Senate in 1964 but lost by 48 votes; Whereas Paul Laxalt served as Governor of the State of Nevada from 1967 to 1971; Whereas, as Governor of the State of Nevada, Paul Laxalt— (1) formed the first community colleges and began the first medical school in Nevada; (2) helped develop the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency to protect and preserve Lake Tahoe; (3) advanced the gaming industry in Nevada; (4) expanded the park system; and (5) in 1968, appointed Reverend William Wynn to be Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, who was the first African American in Nevada to serve in the cabinet of a governor; Whereas, in 1975, Paul Laxalt married Carol Wilson, who had a daughter, Denise, who he adopted; Whereas Paul Laxalt served as United States Senator for the State of Nevada from 1974 to 1987