Rahner, activist for disabled, dies

Monday, Feb. 23, 1998 | 10:14 a.m.

In the 1980s, Gwen Rahner was not shy about approaching the owners of Las Vegas businesses that were not providing parking and other services for the disabled.

She found plenty of apathy on the part of shop owners. It was easy for them not to care because the Americans with Disabilities Act was still just a dream to activists such as Rahner.

"She was an incredible person who could talk to people about subjects they might not have cared much about, and, when she was done they were happy to make accommodations," said Suzanne Thomas, community program consultant to the Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities.

"It did not matter whether it was a gas station, restaurant or convenience store, Gwen would take the time to talk with the owners, and they took her seriously."

Gwendolyn "Gwen" Weeks Rahner, an original member and chairwoman for nine years of the Clark County Regional Committee on People with Disabilities, has died. She was 75.

Rahner, a vocalist in the Louis Jourdan band in the 1940s and '50s, suffered a heart attack Feb. 14 and died Tuesday at Sunrise Hospital.

Services for the 44-year Las Vegas resident are pending. Palm Mortuary is handling arrangements.

Among Rahner's accomplishments are passage of a local fair housing act through her work as a lobbyist for the NAACP and passage of a county ordinance that allowed Metro Police to ticket motorists who illegally parked in handicapped spaces on private lots.

Many ordinances she worked to get passed in the 1970s and '80s on behalf of the disabled now are covered by the ADA, passed in 1990.

"She had a total commitment to all of the things that we all want -- equality and justice," said Alice Key, former editor of the Las Vegas Voice black community newspaper and a longtime friend. "Gwen loved politics and she loved the Democratic party."

Rahner worked on the campaigns of several governors, including Grant Sawyer, Mike O'Callaghan and Bob Miller. Campaigns of senators from Howard Cannon to Richard Bryan and numerous Democrats seeking local offices also benefited from her efforts.

Born Gwendolyn Weeks on Aug. 14, 1922, "Toolie," as her family called her, graduated from Atlantic City Vocational High School in 1940. Soon after, she got a job singing in Jourdan's band. Her mother, also named Gwen Weeks, was a one-time chorus girl.

As a young woman, Gwen was afflicted with tuberculosis. She met Harry Rahner at an Atlantic City sanitarium, where both were being treated. Not long after, they got married.

The Rahners came to Las Vegas in 1954, where he was a casino executive for several resorts. Harry was baccarat manager at the MGM Grand, now Bally's, when a fire there killed more than 75 people in November 1980.

"When she came to town, she was not happy with living conditions in West Las Vegas," Key said. "One of her first activities was to get people registered to vote."

Rahner founded the Democratic Women's Club West and became the first black woman to serve as president of the Clark County Democratic Women's Club.

In 1977, Rahner was named to the newly formed Clark County Regional Committee on People with Disabilities. She became chairwoman two years later.

"Some of the things Gwen was credited with getting for the disabled were access to better parking and wider checkout lanes at grocery stores," Thomas said.

The committee's work came to an end in 1988, but Rahner continued her community work.

She was inducted into the Moulin Rouge Historic Preservation Association's Hall of Fame in March 1995.

Her love for music continued decades after her singing career ended. Rahner was a big jazz fan.

"She would talk in terms of jazz," Key said. "I'd ask Gwen when she'd be by to pick me up and she'd say: 'I'll be over in two Count Basies and half a Sarah Vaughan,' (referring to the time it would take to play those performers' songs on her car radio)."

Last week, a local jazz station dedicated a half hour of music to her memory.

Rahner is survived by two sisters, Doris Weeks and Evelyn Bailey, both of Atlantic City; and two brothers, Harold Ward of Lee, N.H., and William Weeks of Atlantic City.