She helped secure the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) for Nevada and expanded welfare rights through local and national networks.

North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown described Duncan as a “giant of advocacy and justice” whose work expanded help for women and children and strengthened community resources in the Historic Westside.

Her efforts improved opportunities and resources for working Nevadans and left a lasting influence on Southern Nevada through ongoing programs and services inspired by her work.

Born in 1932 near Tallulah, Louisiana, Duncan rose from poverty as the daughter of sharecroppers, facing racial and economic barriers that shaped her outlook in Las Vegas.

A longtime Nevada advocate for the poor and racial justice, Ruby Duncan, died at age 93 in Las Vegas, with announcements noting her passing in North Las Vegas.

She founded the nonprofit Operation Life, which helped establish the Historic Westside’s first library, a health clinic, and programs for employment and housing.

Duncan began her activism after a work injury and welfare experience, turning personal hardship into community organizing.

Duncan received several honors, including the 2008 Margaret Chase Smith Award for political courage, underscoring her lifelong civil rights and anti-poverty work.

In a 2024 interview, she emphasized voting rights and perseverance against injustice, urging others to never give up.

In the 1970s, her organization led a major protest on the Las Vegas Strip against a 75 percent cut to the state welfare program, famously known as the storming of Caesars Palace, and she organized a welfare rights march that halted gambling at Caesars Palace to draw attention to ADC cuts.

Despite Operation Life’s closure in the 1990s due to funding concerns, she credited its influence on local health services, including Quick Care clinics, for inspiring later systems.

Her legacy is commemorated by Ruby Duncan Elementary School in North Las Vegas and a street named for her at UnCommons, reflecting lasting recognition.