Memorial Society of Western Nevada
(Formerly, The Western Nevada Funeral Society)

The purpose of the Memorial Society of Western Nevada is to promote, through education and other means, dignity and simplicity in all services in connection with the disposition of human remains, and to prearrange for members and their families, at prearranged rates, the type of disposal of the bodily remains which they desire within the limitations prescribed by law.

Preliminary meetings and a proposal for a memorial society began on the campus of the University of Nevada in May, 1966, at the instigation of the Faculty Welfare Committee. The Memorial Society of Western Nevada, which is a member of the Continental Association of Funeral and Memorial Societies based in Washington, D.C., was incorporated on December 23, 1966 through the diligent efforts of several persons, including Elmer Rusco, Dr. S.D. Firestone, Mr. and Mrs. Earl Nicholson, Dr. Hahn, Dr. Horbing, Jack Forbes, Walter H. Voskuil, and Russell Thayer. They developed the articles of incorporation, arranged for public meetings, and made initial contacts with local morticians.

Trustees of the society, who serve without compensation, met regularly through 1967 and the spring of 1968. Thereafter, owning to the preoccupation of new Board chairmen with personal or professional obligations, or because of illness, meetings were infrequent. However, information bulletins giving the minimum charges of a local mortician, and crematorium and cemetery charges, as well as the procedures for donation of bodily remains, were supplied to members.

The Society, which had a membership of about sixty families in its first years, was nearly inactive during 1971-1972. But during the spring of 1973, the information bulletins were updated, and the services of a second Reno mortician became available to members. An augmented Board of Trustees was elected at an open meeting held in October of 1973. The membership reached about ninety families at this time, the great majority in the Reno-Sparks-Carson City-Lake Tahoe area. Service by the cooperating morticians is directed primarily to this area, but can be provided with extra mileage costs for those further away. The Society has never had arrangements with morticians in southern or eastern Nevada.

Generally, since 1973 the Trustees have met regularly and according to the bylaws. Objectives of the Board continue to be the provision of annual bulletins to the membership and the obtaining of the services of additional morticians. An annual meeting for the membership is held, usually in early June. The announcement for the meeting goes out to the members in the spring with the annual bulletin. The attendance at these meetings the past six years have averaged 40-60 persons, some drawing by publicity in the local newspapers as well as television and radio coverage. Speakers have included the county coroner, attorneys, cooperating morticians, and in 1986 a representative of the Hemlock Society.

History written by Jim McCormick
February, 1966

Scope and Content

The records of the Memorial Society of Western Nevada were donated to the Special Collections Department as two gifts. The first part of the collection was donated by Elmer Rusco in late December, 1970 or early January, 1971, when the Society became inactive. The second gift was made in February, 1996 by Jim McCormick, chair, and Sue McDowell, treasurer, who organized the records and ensured that the donation included all historic materials. The collection consists of one cubic feet of materials dating from 1964-1995; there are no restrictions on its use by researchers.

These materials comprehensively document the philosophy of the Society, decisions of the board of directors, and activities of the membership of the Society. The collection also provides the opportunity to explore the customs surrounding funeral rites and ceremonies, especially in northwestern Nevada.

The collection is organized into six series: minutes, legal files, membership lists, reports, correspondence, and Continental Association of Funeral and Memorial Societies materials. Records which were part of the second gift were integrated into the arrangement of the original collection with one exception: the minutes of the board of trustees and of annual members' meetings which were part of the second accession were filed following minutes of the first accession. There may be some duplication of those minutes.

Both the minutes and the articles of incorporation examine the philosophy behind the formation of the Society, which was originally known as the Western Nevada Funeral Society. It is especially helpful that Dr. Elmer Rusco, one of the founding members, retained his penned notes of early meetings and included them in the first donation of records. His letter of December 22, 1970 (folder NC445/5/2) details the reason for the cessation of the initial society.

Also included in this collection is material documenting the relationship between the Society and the Continental Association of Funeral and Memorial Societies, which helped sustain Nevada members through their Society's hiatus. Correspondence, sample forms, a few newsletters and other documents are present.

Processed by: Susan Searcy
Date: March 21, 1996

The records of the Memorial Society of Western Nevada are arranged into the following series:

1. Minutes
2. Legal files
3. Memberships
4. Reports
5. Correspondence
6. Continental Association of Funeral and Memorial Societies

 

Series 1 Minutes. 1965-1995. .3 cu. ft.

Two sets of minutes were kept by the Society; those of the board of trustees' meetings and those of the annual meetings of the general membership. Some of each type were included in the two separate accessions; they have not been intermingled. Some minutes contain financial statements; other have annual bulletins interfiled with the meeting materials. Also included in this series is a folder of notes kept by Elmer Rusco during the founding years of the Society. Each set of minutes is filed chronologically.

1/1 Minutes, financial statements of board and annual meetings. June 1966 - Mar. 8, 1967.

1/2 Minutes, financial statements of board and annual meetings. April 22, 1967 - Jan. 1968.

1/3 Minutes, financial statements of board and annual meetings. Feb. 1968 - Feb. 1970.

1/4 Minutes of boards of trustees. 1965-1974.

1/5 Minutes of boards of trustees. 1975-1983.

1/6 Minutes of boards of trustees. 1984-1995.

1/7 Annual meeting minutes and Bulletins. 1967-1980.

1/8 Annual meeting minutes and Bulletins. 1981-1989.

1/9 Annual meeting minutes and Bulletins. 1990-1995.

1/10 Elmer Rusco notes.

 

Series 2. Legal files. ca 1966-1980. 3 folders.

This series contains drafts and final copies of the articles of incorporation, amendments to the articles, notices to members regarding amendments, and agreements with funeral homes and cemeteries. Agreements with funeral homes include statements of services provided and fees. These materials have been retained in the original order of the donors.

2/1 Articles of incorporation. 1966-1970.

2/2 Articles of incorporation. ca 1966-1980.

2/3 Agreements with funeral homes/cemeteries. 1966-1967.

 

Series 3. Membership materials. 1967-1995. 2 folders.

Included in this series are lists of members, compiled yearly, lists of officers by term in which they served, and sample letters regarding membership in the Society. These materials have been retained in the original order of the donors.

3/1 Membership lists, sample letters regarding membership.

3/2 Lists of members of the Boards of Trustees. 1967-1995.

 

Series 4 Reports. 1967-1995. 3 folders.

Series 4 contains annual financial statements, financial reports to the board of trustees, and annual reports filed by the Society with the Washoe County Clerk. Financial reports were also filed by the Society with the minutes of the board and annual meetings.

Financial statements and reports include list itemized receipts, including numbers of types of memberships; expenses, and balances. They are arranged chronologically.

Reports to the Washoe County Clerk were required by law to be filed annually. The contents, also mandated, state when meetings were held, significant business conducted at meetings, details of special speakers at programs, names of officers and trustees, and a general statement regarding the solvency of the Society. These reports are arranged chronologically.

4/1 Annual financial statements. 1967-1995.

4/2 Annual financial reports, 1967-1995.

4/3 Annual reports to Washoe County Clerk. 1973-1992.

 

Series 5. Correspondence. 1964-1993. 3 folders.

The bulk of this series contains correspondence regarding the early formation and operations of the Society, ca 1966-1970. Both incoming and outgoing letters reveal the myriad of details worked out by the first directors of the Society, including wording of the articles of incorporation, negotiations with funeral homes, and general information about the Society. These letters are arranged chronologically.

5/1 Correspondence. 1964-1966.

5/2 Correspondence. 1967-1970.

5/3 Correspondence. 1966-1993.

 

Series 6. Continental Association of Funeral and Memorial Societies. 1966-1970. .25 cu. ft.

The Memorial Society of Western Nevada was a member of the Continental Association of Funeral and Memorial Societies, Inc. Continental provided much of the technical guidance for the fledgling Nevada group in their efforts to organize and adopt bylaws. The national organization also provided sample brochures and flyers, some of which Nevada adapted for their own use. This series includes those samples as well as correspondence which documents the founding of the Memorial Society. The arrangement follows that of the donors of the collection.

6/1 Sample forms used by Western Nevada Funeral Society.

6/2 Statement for Guidance of Family at Time of Death.

6/3 Nevada Laws and Regulations Concerning...Funeral and Burial Practices.

6/4 Publicity.6/5 Continental Association. May 1966 - May 1967.

6/6 Continental Association. Aug. 1967 - 1968.

6/7 Continental Association. 1969-1970.

6/8 California Federation of Memorial and Funeral Societies.

6/9 Omega Newsletters. 1968.

6/10 Sample materials from other societies.

6/11-13 Samples.

Manuscripts | Special Collections

Please direct questions to Jacquelyn Sundstrand
Updated September 19, 2008