Roger Varela a former director of Gold Star Families of Nevada passed away after a battle with cancer. Varela. He was issued Nevada’s first Gold Star License plate, in honor of his son Ray who was killed near Baghdad in May of 2007. Varela helped spear head the effort to get these license plates approved and distributed throughout the state. The plate is available to immediate families and grandparents of service members killed in the line of duty while on active duty with the armed forces of the United States.