RAYMOND PUCKETT 

Raymond "Red" Puckett, 72, passed away Oct. 15, 2009. He was born June 
17, 1937, in Rapid City, S.D. His family moved to Kyle, S.D., and he 
attended Little Wound Day School, in Pine Ridge, and graduated from 
Grand Island High School in 1956. Red enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and 
served from 1956 until 1962. He was a Golden Shellback, crossing both 
the International Line and the equator. In 1963, he moved to Las Vegas 
to escape the midwest cold. Red worked in the construction drywall 
business before changing careers, becoming a dealer, working for the 
Paddle Wheel, Plaza Hotel and Desert Inn. While at the D.I., he was a 
high stakes baccarat dealer. Red became an IRS tax fighter, declaring 
"Tips are not earnings, but gifts." He lost. Red spent his retired 
years living peacefully until he died in his sleep. He enjoyed driving 
cars fast and really loved Las Vegas and all it had to offer. Red also 
enjoyed the Santa Anita Racetrack. As a horse better, he was a 
Kentucky Derby Trifecta Box winner three different times. Red was 
preceded in death by his wife, Sheila; and mother and father, Bertha 
and Harold Puckett. He is survived by his brothers, John of Kyle, 
S.D., Joe of Olathe, Colo., and Tom of Westminster, Colo.; his 
daughter, Amy; granddaughter, Cydni Rae; favorite cousins, Laura 
Benedickt-Burnett and Sonny; and many nephews, nieces and cousins. Red 
will be truly missed by those lives he had touched. A private ceremony 
will be held in Kyle, S.D.

Published in Las Vegas Review-Journal on October 25, 2009