Stanley Rader - Biography

Biography

Stanley Rader was born and raised in White Plains, New York. He later moved to California where he met his future wife, Natalie "Niki" Gartenberg. He graduated in 1951 from UCLA and became a Certified Public Accountant in 1954.

In 1956 Rader met Armstrong, leader of what was then called the Radio Church of God, at its headquarters offices in Pasadena, California. Under contract with the Radio Church of God, Rader worked on improving its accounting system, thereby creating a highly favorable impression with Armstrong, who then urged him to attend law school at Armstrong's expense. In 1963 Rader graduated from University of Southern California Law School.

The Radio Church of God had been previously incorporated on March 3, 1946 when it was reestablished in Pasadena. Prior to this event it had been an unincorporated voluntary association based in Eugene, Oregon named after its radio broadcast. On January 5, 1968, which was the year following the death of his first wife, Loma, Armstrong, as president, together with the secretary of the corporation, amended its Articles of Incorporation to reflect the change of name to the Worldwide Church of God. (By then its radio broadcast had also been renamed The World Tomorrow). By this time Armstrong was considered to be more of a modern-day apostle by his followers, rather than merely "pastor general," his title in the church. After coming to terms regarding salary and compensation, in 1969 Rader decided to devote his full time to the service of Armstrong.