Charles William Rath, 87, of Bexley, passed away on Saturday, December 9, 2023.
Charlie is survived by the loving gift of his life for 59 years, wife, Susie (McClelland) Rath, daughters Anne (Tom) Lewis and Katie (Bill) Talbott and son, Charlie (Michele) Rath, beloved grandchildren Zach, Evie, Will, Ian, Henry, Charlie, Gigi, Amelia, Madeline. He will be missed dearly by nephews, nieces, cousins, a vast network of friends and incredibly special caregivers that have become like family over these last few years.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Paul C. Rath and Dora L. (Rice) Rath, sister, Carol (Busch) and granddaughters, Ava Dianne and Mary Margaret.
Charlie was born March 18, 1936 in East Lansing, MI, then the family soon moved to Bellefontaine, OH. He attended grade school at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Parish in Bellefontaine, then Bellefontaine HS, where he was class president in his senior year. After high school, he earned a business marketing degree from the University of Notre Dame, the institution – and football team! – which remained so important to him for all his life.
In 1961, Charlie moved to Columbus where he met Susie at Wentz’ Drug Store on Main St. in Bexley. They were married on October 31, 1964, at St. Catharine Catholic Church.
Charlie was ambitious in his career. After Notre Dame, he moved back to Bellefontaine and worked in his father’s business, Rath Systems. In 1961, he landed a position in sales and PR writing for The Upjohn Company in Columbus then in Kalamazoo.
He and Susie then moved to New York where he worked for the renowned agency, J. Walter Thompson. In 1969, Charlie and Susie moved their young family back to Columbus, where he took a job as a VP of Sales for Drustar Unit Dose Systems.
He left Drustar to work for agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample in 1976 as an account lead for client, Wendy’s Old-Fashioned Hamburgers, where he was instrumental in giving life to the indelible “Where’s the Beef?” campaign in the early 80’s. This success led to a long tenure at Wendy’s as the Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer until 2001. He spent the final years of his career with Retail Ventures, working on their flagship brand, DSW.
Charlie’s spirit was always rooted in generosity. He had a natural reflex to share and give back, which he did in numerous roles: President and co-Founder, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption; President and Creative Director, To This Day Foundation; member, Notre Dame Alumni Club; co-Founder, American School of Double Bass; President, Jazz Arts Group; Founder, The Firehouse Jazz Society; Board Member, St. Catharine School; Board Member, Columbus State Foundation; Board Member, The Bexley Community Foundation; Founder, The College Glee Club Institute of America; member, The Catholic Foundation.
Beyond family, Charlie has left a very wide circle of friends that will miss what he brought to the party: an awesome sense of humor and a killer clam sauce. Many of those friendships were forged and fortified for over 20 years at their second home, the Woodland Cottage, near the Homestead in Hot Springs, VA. He embraced with love the people of the Hot Springs area and they responded in kind. Charlie and Susie’s hospitality and warmth created infinite memories for all of those around him.
Charlie had an innate creative and artistic side that always came out. Music was an enormously important part of his life, playing the piano from an early age to learning the double bass later in life, and in the most recent years, simply finding joy and peace in listening to a huge range of jazz and more in his room at the Bickford.
Beyond music, his creative bent extended into his retirement as he authored various books including Play Me Something, Angus, Tales of Possum Run and Planet Satiety. His book, In Lieu of Flowers, set in Indian Lake, OH, was perhaps closest to his heart, evoking the time and sensibilities of when he was a young man.
Charlie was an ardent, lifelong Catholic and was a true believer in prayer. His relationship with St. Catharine was of great reward to him.
Calling hours will be Dec. 22 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Egan-Ryan Funeral Home, 403 E. Broad St., Columbus. There will be a Funeral Mass at 11:30 a.m. December 23 at St. Catharine Catholic Church, 500 S. Gould, Bexley, with a BIG Celebration of Charlie’s Life to follow at the Columbus Country Club.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, the Ava Dianne Lewis Endowment for the NICU at Nationwide Children’s Hospital of Columbus, or the Susie and Charlie Rath Bexley Community Foundation Creative Arts Fund.
