Leslie L. (Les) Tyrrell, Lincoln, lost his four year battle with cancer on February 14, 2010. He was born March 31, 1945 in Lincoln to Wendell “Ty” and Viloa “Tootie” Tyrrell. He is survived by his wife, Athena; Son and Daughter in Law, Jeffrey and Lisa. Preceded in death by his parents and brother (at birth).
Northeast High School, Class of 1963. University of Nebraska, Class of 1968. Masters Degree in Education, University of Nebraska, Class of 1972. While at Northeast, Les was a letterman in Football, Basketball and Baseball. He was also a member of the student council, his senior class President and a member of the choir. In 2006, he was inducted in the Northeast High School Athletic Hall of Fame. During his time at Nebraska, he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
Les began his career in education and served as a Principal in both the Murdock and Malcom School Districts. He later became Superintendent of the Malcom School District . In 1978, Les began his career with the Nebraska Real Estate Commission and was appointed its Executive Director in 1991, a position he filled with distinction until his retirement in 2009. During his years with the Commission, he became very involved in the National Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (Narello), serving on dozens of committees, task forces and other working groups. A small sampling of those include: Establishing Education Certification Program, Appraiser Examination, Education and Standards, Investigative and Enforcement, Budget and Finance, Executive, Strategic Planning, Industry Liaison, Controlled Business Practices, Fair Housing, International Relations, Law and many others. Les was elected by his peers to serve on the Narello Board of Directors in 1984 and as District Vice-President in 1986 and National President from 1988-1989. In addition to those achievements, he was twice awarded the (N)Arello “Presidents Award for Service and Leadership”.
Upon his retirement, Les was named (N)Arello “Member Emeritus”, an honor conferred on less than three dozen members in the organizations seventy-nine year history. Les was an avid golfer and member of Hillcrest Country Club for more than 25 years. He previously served on the Hillcrest Board of Directors, the Cornhusker Boy’s State Board of Directors, the Executive Club and was the long time President of his Home Owners Association.