Harvey "Axe" LeRoy Trees
Jun 14, 1940 -
Jun 23, 2026
Harvey "Axe" LeRoy Trees, age 86, passed away at 1:38 a.m., on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, of a ruptured aortic aneurysm at the University of Utah Medical Center, ICU in Salt Lake City, Utah.
He was the son of late Warren E. and Catherine M. Trees. He was native of the village of Aitkin, Minn. In his youth he lived in Fort Wayne, Ind. He graduated from Southside High School. His favorite sport was wrestling.
He loved playing lead guitar in a local band. He and his band mates joined the Army in 1959-1962, and took every opportunity to perform for the troops. After the Army they headed to west coast to make a name for themselves. Once they started opening for L.A. and Las Vegas show rooms. They made history and fame. They became known as The Checkmates LTD.
Due to the band breaking up, he went to work in the Las Vegas casinos as a dealer. He later moved to West Wendover, Nev., to work in Jim's Casino for some time.
He then moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where he lived for 18 years. He co-operated a commercial fishing vessel till fishing got too costly; after that he operated a gold trading business during the pipeline days.
In the 80s, he attended Alaska University to earn a degree in journalism and later became an editor for the Alaska Journal of Recovery and wrote stories for various magazines.
He became a professional photographer of people, wildlife and wild places, in parts of Alaska, Washington, Minnesota, Mississippi, Indiana, and Nevada. He loved getting out in nature and experiencing the peace and beauty of it all.
In 1994, he left Alaska to visit with his aunt Helen in Fort Wayne. There he met Janet and after a year they went to Washington state for photo opportunities.
Then a year later he came to West Wendover, where he lived the last 28 years of his life.
In 1998, he had secured a job at the Red Garter. He later retired to do photography on his time.
Though he had been a Godly man in 2019, he gave his life to Christ, so we know he is with Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior now and always.
From Aug. 26, 1986, to 1:38 a.m. June 23, 2026, he was a continuously sober member of AA; had he lived to Aug. 26, 2026, he would have had 40 years of sobriety.
He is survived by his wife ,Janet Durbin; sister, Phyllis Oldenkamp; niece, Kimberly Lehman; nephew and wife, Kyle and Amy Lehman; nephew, Charles Hlawek; cousins, James (Jim) and Dee Fisher, Joyce Carol, Sarah (Greg) Gustafson and Carrie Francis Ferlita and possibly other cousins.
Celebration of Life for Harvey Trees was held on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2026, at 11 a.m., followed by Food and Conversation at the Blessed Hope Church, 855 Alpine St., West Wendover, NV 89883, with Pastor Chris Lund as officiant and Pastor Dennis Draves shared a few words. The floor was open to anyone else who would like to share.
