Michael McLaughlin (1874-1954)

MCLAUGHLIN, CLEM, EASTMAN, MATHISON, VALLINE, WEST, GILMAN

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 7/19/2022 at 11:34:03

From Nevada Evening Journal December 13, 1954 (page 1)

Mike McLaughlin, Prominent Nevada City Councilman, Dies Here At 80

Funeral rites for Michael McLaughlin, 80, prominent resident of Nevada for the past 75 years, will be held t 9:30 a.m. Tuesday from the St. Patrick's Catholic church here. The Rev. J. J. Brickley will officiate and burial will be in St. James Catholic cemetery here.

The rosary will be recited at the Ryan Funeral Home at 8 o'clock tonight.

Mr. McLaughlin, a politically prominent Nevada resident who was serving as a member of the city council at the time of his death, died at 10:10 p.m. Saturday at Story County hospital following a lengthy illness. He had been a patient at the hospital for the past 10 weeks. Death was caused by complications.

Mr. McLaughlin was born July 25, 1874 in Jackson county, Wis., the son of James and Mary McLaughlin. He moved to Nevada with his parent at an early age.

Survivors include his wife, Julia McLaughlin; two sons, James McLaughlin of Des Moines, and Michael McLaughlin, Jr., Sacramento, Calif.; six daughters, Mrs. Mary A. Clem, Mrs. Charles Eastman and Mrs. Art Mathison, all of Ames; Mrs. Haynard Valline, Nevada; Mrs. Marvin West, Sacramento, Calif.; and Mrs. Gilman Randall, Guttenburg, Ia.; two brothers, John McLaughlin, Armour, S. Dak., and Frank McLaughlin, Yselta, Tex., and a sister, Catherine McLaughlin, Los Angeles, Calif.

Sixteen grand children and two great grandchildren also survive. He was preceded in death by his wife, in 1923. Five children, four brothers and two sistera also preceded him in death.

Legend Born Today

A legend was born in Nevada Saturday when death came for Michael McLaughlin, 80-year-old member of Nevada city council, and an influential figure in city, county and state politics.

Known and respected as "Mike" to his friends, his associates and his rivals, Mr. McLaughlin passed away Saturday evening at Story county Hospital. He had been admitted to the hospital the morning of Oct. 2.

He leaves a seat at the city council table that he had occupied with only one break for 32 years, representing Nevada's second ward. During his terms of service he wielded power that affected the lives of almost every person in the community.

Mike McLaughlin was born in Hickson, Wisconsin in 1874, the son of Michael and Nora McLaughlin. The family moved to Nevada the following year, where the elder Michael was employed in railroad construction.

Young Mike was educated in the public schools of Nevada, and in his early teens began work at Nevada Brick & Tile Co. Other occupations included farming and employment with Nevada Poultry Co.

In 1922 Mike McLaughlin began his service as the perennial councilman from Nevada's second ward, suffering defeat for re-election only once, when R. Fred Nelson won a seat in council in 1935. Two months later Nelson resigned his seat in council, and in July, 1935, Mr. McLaughlin was appointed by unanimous vote of the council members present, to complete the unexpired term.

Although a leader in the Democratic party throughout his political career--he had three times won the Democratic candidacy in Story county for the State legislature--he enjoyed the confidence of outstanding citizens here, whether Republican or Democrat.

"You can say I like Mike as a friend, and respected him as a man," Mayor Frank Ambrose said shortly after Mr. McLaughlin's death. "I have known and worked with him throughout the last seven years in my capacity as councilman, city attorney and mayor."

In his own ward Mike McLaughlin maintained a relationship with his constituents that won their confidence and loyalty, as demonstrated by their support at the polls. Born in circumstances of extreme poverty himself, he carried on a one-man program of food distribution to the underprivileged residents of the ward, and worked to make low-cost housing available to them.

"You could say that Mike was always looking out for little fellow," Mayor Frank Ambrose stated yesterday after learning of Mike McLaughlin's death. "Throughout his life he was interested n the welfare of those whom no one else seemed to think about."

--By Jim McLaughlin