LAS VEGAS — Long before his body was laid to rest in the Las Vegas Valley, Herman Lee Moody was born in Leesville, Louisiana on September 24, 1924.
In 1939, Moody's family embarked on a cross-country trip hoping to make it to Oregon but the family car broke down on the way there and stopped in Las Vegas.
The family settled in the valley and Moody attended Las Vegas High School before graduating and enlisting in the Navy. He was honorably discharged in 1945 and joined the police force a year later, becoming the first African American to join valley law enforcement.
Former colleague Sheriff Jerry Keller recalls the time he found out Moody had a P2 number.
“The significance of that is that we’re approaching 20 thousand “P” numbers on the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Herman was number 2,” Keller said.
Referred to as the patriarch of Madison in the Historic Westside, his granddaughter, Shanta Eppenger, said Moody was a pillar in the community and his presence will be greatly missed.
“My grandfather raised me. He also0 raised my twin sister," Eppenger said. “[Moody was] an essence of a man. My grandfather was a man of integrity respect."
Herman leaves behind five daughters, six grandkids and more than 23 great-grandkids.
Herman Lee Moody was 98 years old.
