| Birth: | Feb. 14, 1911 | | Death: | Oct. 7, 2002 | 
Las Vegas Mayor. Like many young men during the Great Depression, he found himself riding the rails in search of employment. He landed in Las Vegas, briefly working on the construction of Hoover Dam. Several jobs later, he had saved up enough money to open an appliance store. At the time, corruption was rampant in the police department, and officers broke into his store on several occasions to help themselves to televisions. Outraged, he ran for public office and was elected mayor in 1959. Corruption throughout the city was one of his targets. Another was improving the Westside, home to the city's African-American population. Bucking resistance from many of his white colleagues, he poured money into the impoverished district - paving roads, adding street lights and other improvements that the rest of the city took for granted. The grateful citizens responded by electing him to four terms as mayor. He was the Republican candidate for governor in 1962, losing to the popular Grant Sawyer. Ironically, the two men now rest just across the aisle from each other in the Lakeside Mausoleum at Palm Valley View Memorial Park. (bio by: Miracle Mile Tim)
Search Amazon for Oran Gragson | | | Burial:
Palm Memorial Park (Green Valley)
Las Vegas
Clark County
Nevada, USA
Plot: Lakeside Mausoleum, Inside Corridor |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: Miracle Mile Tim
Record added: Oct 16, 2007
Find A Grave Memorial# 22261556 |
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