Former Henderson planner, businessman Chatterton dies

In 1977 Chat Chatterton decided after 28 years of working for Utah Power and Light to pull up stakes and buy a fence company in Henderson.

"At the time, I thought it was just about the silliest thing," his wife, Marlene Chatterton, said. "But Chat said he just wanted to own his own business. He had experience putting up ornamental iron and cyclone fences, so he knew what he was doing."

Chatterton's company, Fortune Fencing, provides much of the fencing used at Kerr-McGee, Timet and other plants at the BMI industrial complex in Henderson.

Chatterton also was good at planning. When he was appointed to the Henderson Planning Commission in 1985, the 80-square-mile city had 35,930 people. When he left that post in 1997, the town had grown to 148,000.

LaVell "Chat" Chatterton, who promoted controlled growth and supported projects such as the Lake at Las Vegas resort community, Black Mountain Studio, Sunset Station and numerous other residential and business developments, died Friday. He was 68.

Chatterton, a devout Christian Scientist who believed in prayer instead of the use of drugs and other conventional medical treatments, declined to go to the hospital after he recently developed an unknown ailment. He died at his Henderson home.

There will be no services. Burial was in Henderson's Palm Memorial Park.

"Chat brought a business expertise to the meetings and provided much insight to the discussions," said Henderson City Councilman Dave Wood, who served with Chatterton on the planning commission in the mid-1990s.

"He also had a great knowledge of the history of various zoning matters and provided that background to other members. Chat was sorely missed when he left the board and now he will be sorely missed as a community asset."

Henderson law limited Chatterton to the two terms he served, but in those two terms, he made an impression.

A commendation issued by Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson on Dec. 16, 1997, says Chatterton exemplified "dedication to the best interest of the community" and worked toward the "betterment of its economic, cultural and aesthetic development."

In a Dec. 9, 1997, letter, Councilman Jack Clark wrote: "You have had a real impact in shaping our community (and) preserving the family-oriented values."

Born June 5, 1930, in Preston, Idaho, just north of the Utah border, Chatterton was one of five children of railroad worker Ronald James Chatterton and the former Martha Hill.

When Chatterton was 9, his family became Christian Science members after his mother survived what doctors called a terminal illness. She credited her miraculous healing to prayer and lived to be 87.

On Oct. 27, 1947, while in his senior year at Preston High School, Chatterton, a star halfback on the football team and a former Eagle Scout, married a local farm girl, Marlene Smith, then a freshman at the same school.

Chatterton went to work as a hydraulic operator for Utah Power and Light in Idaho and Utah and eventually became the company's customer service manager before leaving that position for the business and political opportunities in Southern Nevada.

"Chat said some decisions he made on the planning commission were difficult, but he said he felt good if the projects he voted to approve brought good solid business to Henderson," Marlene said. "He loved controlled growth and welcomed it to Henderson."

Wood echoed those sentiments: "Chat was very proud of being able to assist the city in growing larger and more vibrant, yet he wanted to protect the small-city feeling. He did not want Henderson to lose its identity."

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Ronald Chatterton of Henderson; a daughter, Elaine Ganti also of Henderson; a brother, Richard Chatterton of Tampa, Fla.; five grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Donations in Chatterton's memory to the Henderson Boys and Girls Clubs.

archive