Arthur K. Rath, Jr.

Arthur passed out of this life on August 26, 2023, surrounded by his family after fighting a long battle with cancer. Born on January 3, 1940, he started his adventure as a boy in Brooklyn, New York. Life was that of a German immigrant family in New York City in the 1940 and 50’s and was filled with stickball in the streets and trips to Coney Island, Dodgers Stadium and the Metropolitan Opera. His father, the other Arthur, had traveled the world as a merchant marine and his tales instilled in him a taste for risk and fun.  As a young man, Arthur never backed down from a challenge.  He loved sports, especially baseball, horse racing, and golf. A good poker game was never turned down and he never met a bet he wouldn’t take. He forever identified as a New Yorker and loved his Yankees.

In the late 1950s, his family relocated to College Park, MD. At a chance meeting on the University of Maryland campus he met the love of his life Margaret Elizabeth Slavin (“Maggie”) in 1961. He was later drafted into the US Army and served as a canine military police officer at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas and at Old Bridge Nike Missile Base in New Jersey. He loved his German Shepard, Duke, more than his gun and always thought the dogs were better protection. He was a life-long dog owner and dog dad to Rex, Sunny, Boogie, Randy and his beloved Ringo. He felt tremendous pride taking his dogs for long walks and seeing their joy at playing outside in nature.

After his honorable discharge from the Army, Arthur and Maggie settled into married life in Greenbelt, Maryland, where their four children, Sieglinde, Raina, Kurt and Erika, were born.  In 1972, they moved to Calvert County, Maryland and spent the next 25 years raising their young family.  After the children were grown, Arthur and Maggie moved back to what they always considered home, Prince George’s County, and lived in Laurel for the remainder of his life.

For 50 years Arthur worked for the State of Maryland Highway Administration as an asphalt and concrete quality control engineer and he knew the roads of Maryland like the back of his hand.  He was proud of his work and over his long career became known as an expert in the industry.  He was a great friend and mentor to many and was always greeted with a smile when he showed up to test a lab.

Arthur was an unlikely Renaissance man and wasn’t afraid to buck convention.  He was the family cook before it was cool and when Maggie went back to law school in the 1980s he proudly sported a “Real Men Marry Lawyers” t-shirt.  He loved his four children more than anything and taught them how to fish, crab, play ball, and care for animals. He was known to surprise his children with a day off from school to go see a special museum exhibit (King Tut was a favorite), take a spontaneous road trip to the beach or catch a matinee movie. He had a love of art and culture that he passed on to his children, taking them to German festivals, the Smithsonian, and the Kennedy Center. There were two constants in his house:  classical music or opera on the radio and sports on the television. He was a beloved basketball coach and the family station wagon always had an extra seat for any player who needed a ride.

No one could tell a story like Arthur. Whether it was about having a drink with Lee Majors, the  time he met Joe DiMaggio at the race track,  or one of his many misadventures with his best friend John Paul “Cosmo” Hayes (his former brother-in-law and life long partner-in-crime), he kept us laughing. His stories are legendary and will keep his memory alive for many years.

His grandchildren adored him and he was the proudest Opa to them. He loved watching his grandchildren play sports and he never missed a game,  grandparent day or graduation.  He and Maggie loved letting the grands pick dinner spots - their favorite being Old Country Buffet. They had two bedrooms dedicated to the grandkids and those rooms were always booked as every month was peak season.

He loved his wife of over 60 years, Maggie, so much and they rejoiced in every graduation, wedding, baby shower and birth of every grandchild and great grandchild. The vows ‘in sickness and in health” took on an extra meaning when Arthur suffered a stroke in 2014 and then a cancer diagnosis in 2016.  He battled cancer with stoic tenacity and faced every chemo session, radiation and surgery the doctors threw at him over seven years and his Maggie was a tireless caregiver.

Their long marriage leaves an inheritance of love and dedication.  Arthur is survived by his loving wife, Margaret Rath; his four children, Sieglinde Rath, Raina Rath, Kurt Rath and Erika Rath Carmean; sons-in-law, Brian Chambers and Mark Carmean; grandchildren, Sierra Benbrook, Savannah Benbrook Eisner, Keegan Rath, Kyle Benbrook, Sydney Rath, Paige Carmean, Summer Benbrook and Nicholas Carmean; great-grandchildren Cole Lockerman, Lucas Rath and Rhone Eisner; nephew Brent Hayes; nieces Bonnie Knapp and Carla Butler; and best friend John Paul Hayes. He is predeceased by his father, Arthur K. Rath, Sr., his beloved mother, Marga Rath, aunt, Henny Thieis, and sister, Sieglinde Rath Hayes.

He was surrounded in love and passed in his home in those quiet early hours of an August Saturday.  His family takes comfort in knowing he is free from pain. Although Laurel Race Park should fly its flag at half-mast because he will be sorely missed there.