In his dual role of public guardian, Shafer handles the estates of the living who usually cross over into the public administrator's realm when they die. Chloris Dill, widow of David Bruce Dill, a renowned scientist and UNLV professor, was a ward of Shafer's for seven years when she died Dec. 14. Dill made a name for himself studying the effects of dehydration during World War I while working for the Department of Chemistry - a precursor to the Food and Drug Administration. Now Shafer has a small fortune to execute. The public administrator often finds people living in squalor with large bank accounts.
Nobody dies the same.
As executor of the estates of lost souls, Shafer has to dispense of their personal property - everything from jewelry to mink coats to rare coins. Lots of guns. And loads of Saturday night specials. But they're not for sale. When Shafer took the job, Metro Police informed him they had no idea what happened to handguns under prior administrations.