Celebration of Life to honor former Bradenton vice mayor

During more than 20 years as an elected official, former Bradenton Vice Mayor Saundra Rahn never lost sight of why she served.

"She always would say, 'I am an elected official, not a politician,'" said Rahn's daughter, Pam Rahn. "I always was proud of my mom and I wanted to be like her."

Saundra Rahn will be remembered during a Celebration of Life service at Peace Presbyterian Church in Lakewood Ranch beginning at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 15.

She was living in Greenfield Plantation at the time of her death on Dec. 24 at 88.

Courtesy image

Pam Rahn said her mother was serving as Bradenton Mayor Sterling Hall's secretary when she decided to run for a city council seat in 1970. She was the first woman elected to the council.

Six years old at the time, Pam Rahn said she learned how the government worked over the years by watching her mom at meetings and by accompanying her to various events.

"I was with her (along with the rest of her family) when she met President (Gerald) Ford and Betty," Pam Rahn said.

She said the seriousness of the moment hit her when Secret Service officers told her mom to "take your hands out of your purse."

It was a different kind of environment.

Over the years, Pam Rahn said her mom met several governors, and she once picked up Sen. John Glenn at the airport. 

While she respected her mom's duties, Pam Rahn said she never did run for elected office herself even though she learned leadership skills by the way her mom conducted business.

Courtesy image

"You look around and you wonder what Donald Trump has gone through, how politicians are treated," Pam Rahn said. "So my path has gone a different direction, so far. "But I learned to appreciate how the government works."

She said local residents will remember that her mom was instrumental in getting the Pittsburgh Pirates to agree to train in Bradenton.

For 62 years, Saundra Rahn was a member of the Bradenton Woman's Club. In 2022, the club created the Silver Service Award, in which the platter is designated as the Saundra Rahn Devotion Platter. It honors the member who best exemplifies "living the volunteer spirit."

"She was a wonderful mentor to me," said Bradenton Woman's Club President Tammy Kesky. "Everyone looked up to her."

Pam Rahn said her mom always remained humble through her years in office. She remembered late one night when a constituent called her mom and said, "I have snakes in my house."

"Mom dropped everything she was doing and went to that lady's house to get the snakes out. That's the kind of person she was."

She is survived by her three children Connie, Greg, and Pam.