Overview
- Local officials confirmed he died on January 4 at age 87, prompting public condolences from the municipality and party leaders.
- Current mayor Ullrich Sander praised him as a defining figure who served with reliability, style and generosity of spirit.
- Räther led the town from 1990 to 2002 after a career as an engineer at Siemens and MBB and decades of involvement in the SPD.
- His tenure produced lasting projects including the sport and leisure park, the Keltenhaus, the neighborhood-help and adult-education center, and the St. Georg II kindergarten.
- He was named the SPD’s first local honorary member and designated Altbürgermeister in 2018, and funeral details had not yet been announced by the town hall.