Gerda Herta Malamud

Gerda Malamud, 87, passed away at the Nathan Adelson Hospice on February 19, 2026. She was born Gerda Letje in a farming community near Glückstadt, a city on the Elbe 45 minutes from Hamburg. Upon finishing technical school, she worked as a drafter in Hamburg where she soaked up the city’s rich culture.

Gerda’s passion was travel. She explored America in 1963, living and working in New York City where she met her future husband, Bernie. They married in New York in 1966. There she took courses at the New School while he studied for his Ph.D. They settled in Las Vegas two years later in a life centered around UNLV and its close-knit faculty.

Gerda enjoyed Las Vegas and its university at each stage of their growth. She contributed to that growth as a drafter at Boyle Engineering, working on projects that brought water to Las Vegas Valley from Lake Mead, treated waste water to tertiary standards, and protected the Valley from flood with detention basins. Her major project, however, was raising, together with Bernie, their son Norbert.

Gerda traveled with family, friends, and on her own, regularly visiting Germany and striking out from there to everywhere. Over time, she explored all seven continents.

Gerda is survived by her husband Bernard, their son Norbert, his family—Linda Nguyen, Ethan (16), and Zoe (13)—and her sister Silke Letje. Donations in her memory should be sent to the UNLV General Fund, the Las Vegas Philharmonic, or the Nathan Adelson Hospice.