By Tony Valenti
In Las Vegas, most everyone knew of Linn Mills. He was a leader in the Southern Nevada horticultural community and a longtime Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist, who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year.
In Las Vegas, most everyone knew of Linn Mills. He was a leader in the Southern Nevada horticultural community and a longtime Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist, who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year.
Recently, at First Choice Tree Service, we dedicated our yard to Linn. Now, at our two-acre fenced lot, hangs a banner in his name. Every time we drive through, we think of the great person he was. The lot is called the Linn Mills Yard, and it is the heart of our tree service business. But, the tribute to this man runs much deeper.
You see, Linn was such an inspiration, to not only me, but to everyone he encountered. He had a way of making everyone feel good about themselves.Linn was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served as a bishop for his church. But, talks of religion were hardly in my conversations with him, as he always regarded me as a peer and expert in the tree industry.
Professionally, he was an expert in his field of horticulture. During most of his career as a horticulturalist, Linn worked for the University of Nevada Reno Cooperative Extension in Southern Nevada. He spent a few years working for the Utah State University Cooperative Extension in Salt Lake City. Linn finished his career at the Las Vegas Valley Water District. For the past 30 years he was a garden columnist for the Las Vegas Review Journal and did garden segments for KLAS-TV 8. Linn also co-authored “The Nevada Gardener’s Guide”.
Linn was also active at Springs Preserve. I still remember the time when he called upon me, as I was doing a site check there. He had a tour group of about 15 people. He was educating them on the various native species that grow in the Las Vegas Valley. Linn and I had known each other a long time and whenever he wanted to talk about trees, I was his go-to person. That day, I just happened to be at Springs Preserve when he spotted me and asked me to talk to this group about a particular tree. I was honored to have shared the platform with him that day.
Linn had a way of making everyone around him feel special. It’s a gift that only a handful in this world are willing to give freely. His unselfish ways, his laughter, his knowledge, his continued thirst to learn - even as accomplished as he was - is an inspiration. His legacy lives on in our hearts. With each person he touched, it was like an arrow launched from his bow. We are the arrows that will continue his legacy of sharing, serving and enriching the lives of others.
