Before joining and helping steer Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada from the end of the Great Recession through a global pandemic and the economic crisis that followed, Deacon Tom Roberts didn’t imagine the career change that placed him at the helm of the organization.

Newly ordained, Roberts was an accomplished gaming executive when he got the nod to temporarily lead the nonprofit after the sudden passing of its former President and CEO Monsignor Patrick Leary in 2012.

Roberts, 63, has led the organization since, recently announcing that he’s retiring at the end of the year.

“It’s been the honor of my life to serve here,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal this week, his voice breaking. “I’ve gotten to do some amazing things in the business world — and I’m proud of every one of them — but I didn’t know that maybe God was preparing me my whole life for this job.”

The 16 programs at the Catholic Charities campus help shelter and feed hundreds of people every day, among other services.

“We’re faith-based, but we’re not the Catholic Church,” said Roberts, adding that the nonprofit doesn’t proselytize or turn anyone away.

Under Roberts’ tenure, the nonprofit’s yearly operating budget grew from $16 million to $50 million, with overhead costs of about 10 percent, he said.

The Meals on Wheels program that delivers meals to 2,500 seniors daily has more than doubled. The food pantry, which most resembles a small grocery store, helps 150 families each day.

The dining room that serves daily meals to hundreds stayed open throughout the pandemic.

The fact that there is hunger in Las Vegas, including from 1,000 seniors on the waiting list for the delivery program, bothers Roberts.

“It shouldn’t be like this, there’s more food consumed in this town than any other place in the world,” he said. “It’s unacceptable to me that people are hungry here. Out of any other place, no one should be hungry in Las Vegas.”

‘Next generation’

Roberts credits his staff of about 300 and the thousands of volunteers for the nonprofit’s successes serving the local population.

“It’s time for me to let this team and the next generation of leaders come forward and take it to the next level,” he said.

Replacing Roberts is a tall order, said John P. Hester, who sits in the nonprofit’s board of trustees.

“It’s not going to be easy to find his replacement,” Hester said. “He’s a good strategic thinker; he also has really good relationships with local, state and federal government officials.”

Then there’s the human element, he added. “I think he’s caring. I think that he’s a good listener, and he looks for opportunities to support folks that come to the agency for services.”

Humble beginnings

Roberts was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. He was only 3 when his father died, devastating his widow and six children.

The dioceses there helped put the children through school. Roberts’ early jobs included cleaning a convent and delivering newspapers with his brothers.

He paid his way through college by working at a grocery store, where he met his wife of 38 years. The firm that developed the shopping center hired him after he graduated.

He was promoted, moved around the country and landed in Las Vegas in the early 1990s, becoming the founding general manager of the Forum Shops at Caesars. He was an executive at the Rio and helped open two gaming properties in Louisiana before returning to the valley as vice president of development for Station Casinos.

After Leary died, Roberts first took vacation and then an unpaid leave to help Catholic Charities as an interim CEO. He was named the official replacement in 2013.

Meeting the people who seek services at Catholic Charities changed his perspective.

“I was totally ignorant,” he said. “I understood what it was like to struggle, but I didn’t understand what it was like to live on the street. My mother kept us together.”

Roberts said he is a firm believer of compassionate care, and understanding individual stories to help eradicate hunger and house more people along with wrap-around services.

“It shouldn’t be painful to get help,” he said, “it shouldn’t be embarrassing.”

At all times, he said, he keeps courtesy cards that map Catholic Charities’ location. When he comes across someone in the streets, he hands one to them along with free bus passes.

“They’re just like you and me,” he said. “Everybody has a story, and if you take the time to listen they can articulate to you what has happened.”

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.

A married Nevada couple was mysteriously found dead in their Mexican hotel room, and their children now say they may never know how they died.

Lindsay and Nick Jordan were found dead in their hotel room in Cabo San Lucas,  Mexico on July 14, where they traveled with work friends to celebrate Lindsay’s 46th birthday, the Reno Gazette Journal reports.

Their son, Deven Simms, has since been combing and translating police records trying to figure out what happened.

He said Mexican authorities believe their parents’ deaths were caused by drugs, but there are discrepancies in ‘every document’ about how many drugs were found and of what kind.

But because the Mexican police ruled their deaths were not suspicious, the family does not have the option to run independent autopsies in the United States.

‘I know now we will never know,’ Deven told the Gazette Journal, noting that his father did not drink – so it was impossible to believe his parents could overdose on drugs.

‘They were there with work friends too,’ he said. ‘They weren’t going to go and do that.’

The children told how the parents were excited to go on the trip, and sent them photos from the Mexican report for the first two days of their trip.

In her last Facebook post on July 12, with photos overlooking the pool and ocean, Lindsay said it was ‘Not too bad from our room for our long weekend.’

The final photo of the couple, appearing happy and smiling as they had lunch at the resort, was taken by a friend.

‘They were just happy and happy to be on this trip,’ said their daughter, Haley, 19. 

Mexican authorities ruled that they had died of drug overdoses, but their son says there are discrepancies in each document 

But on the morning of July 14, Deven said his parents’ friends went to their hotel room after they failed to show up early that morning to discuss plans. 

They were then ushered away by police and hotel staff. 

Deven said the work friends then called him after finding out that their parents had passed away.

He then called Haley to deliver the bad news, and the agreed to meet at their parents’ house in Reno, Nevada to tell their younger sister, Sammy, when she got home from a trip to Disneyland with their grandmother.

‘We just said it as bluntly as we could,’ Deven said. ‘I didn’t want her to have questions or not know right away they were no longer with us.’

But when they told the 12-year-old wrestling prodigy, she ran from the backyard, through the house and climbed into her mother’s car.

She then sat in the passenger seat in the driveway.

‘It’s where, at that moment, she felt closest to my mom because she drove Sammy everywhere,’ Haley said.

She noted that she stood by the car door, while her brother climbed into the drivers’ seat.

‘We just wanted to surround her,’ Haley said. ‘We just wanted her to know she wasn’t alone.’ 

An online fundraiser has been set up to help support the Jordans’ three children

Nevada Elite Wrestling said in the aftermath it ‘suffered a tremendous loss to our wrestling family.’

‘Nick and Lindsay Jordan’s spunk always brought such a light into any room they entered,’ the sports club wrote on Facebook.

‘They were the most generous people, and if you got a chance to be around them, you’d know how special they were.

‘The Jordans supported EVERYTHING for our club, always donating their time, talents and treasure,’ it added.

A GoFundMe has been set up by the mother’s former workplace ‘to help support Nick and Lindsay’s children as they face the challenge of life without their parents.’

It said its goal is ‘to ease the financial burden during this incredibly difficult time,’ with funds going toward funeral expenses and support to help raise Sammy and continue her wrestling career.

In an update last Monday, the organizer wrote that the contributions have covered their funeral expenses ‘and the additional support is helping to provide stability for the children as they adjust to life without their parents.’

As of Sunday evening, it had raised more than $87,000. 

A crash involving multiple cars on West Lake Mead Boulevard over the U.S. Highway 95 overpass left one driver dead Sunday afternoon, according to the Nevada State Police.

Another person was reportedly taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries., according to a Nevada State Police release. Highway Patrol troopers responded to a call about the crash just before 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Motorists are asked to use alternate routes as West Lake Mead Boulevard is closed from North Rainbow Boulevard to Rock Springs Drive. There was no immediate word on when the roads will reopen.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Arlette Yousif at ayousif@reviewjournal.com and follow @arletteyousif on Instagram.