He was his greatest gift

Lolita Harper

Even in death, Gustave Rath -- or “Gus,” as everyone called him --

was still inspiring people to live full, rich, meaningful lives.

Rath, who died March 20 of natural causes, spoke at his own

funeral. He told his loved ones, via a recording made 28 years prior,

that relationships are the most important thing in life and that in

order to take full advantage of those bonds, people must have

openness, trust and respect for each other’s autonomy.

Rath’s recorded voice then asked each of his loved ones to stop

and think for five minutes why they were there and what message they

wanted to leave with.

“It was absolutely amazing,” said wife Karen Stoyanoff, the senior

reverend at the Orange Coast Unitarian Universalist Church in Costa

Mesa.

The tape recorded message was just one of the countless gifts Rath

gave to his friends, family or anybody who spent any amount of time

with him, Stoyanoff said.

“He loved life and loved learning,” Stoyanoff said. “He made a

great impact on hundreds of people.”

Rath was born in New York but spent his early years in the Cuba

and Argentina because his father was in the rubber business. He

earned his bachelor’s degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

and his master’s and doctorate from Ohio State University. He was a

professor at Northwestern University, registered professional

engineer in Ohio and registered psychologist in both New York and

Illinois.

He and Stoyanoff moved to Southern California in 1998. And since

that move, he has never been seen without a Hawaiian shirt, his wife

said.

His flare for the exotic flavored the couple’s life, as they made

it a point to dine at myriad ethnic restaurants and explore foods

from various cultures.

“We recreated some of those meals in our home and took great

pleasure in sharing the kitchen as well as the eating table,”

Stoyanoff said.

Rath was a prolific writer and sought-after lecturer, and had

written or co-written more than 85 articles and books. He was

considered a foremost expert in the area of marketing and managing

churches, and provided his expertise to congregations all over,

including his wife’s.

Stoyanoff said her husband lent support to her ministry in more

than just that way. He helped her to lead and inspire by providing

his full support.

“He took great joy in my ministry and that was a pretty special

thing because he was always a man who was so in charge of his life,”

Stoyanoff said. “To be willing to take a back seat and let me be the

one in charge... What a special man.”