Herbert W. Armstrong

Herbert W. Armstrong (July 31, 1892 – January 16, 1986) was the founder of the Radio Church of God / Worldwide Church of God; self-appointed chancellor of unaccredited Ambassador College; publisher of The Plain Truth magazine in several languages; presenter of The World Tomorrow radio and television programs; father of radio-television evangelist "Garner Ted Armstrong"; president of the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation; self-styled as Ambassador for World Peace and patron of the Ambassador Auditorium concert series.

The era of Stanley Rader

Following a series of scandals involving Garner Ted Armstrong which began shortly after the dawning of the 1970s and coinciding with the failure of the second 19-year timecycle Garner Ted Armstrong was finally removed as second-in-command of the church and replaced by attorney Stanley Rader, who had enjoyed a long relationship with Herbert W. Armstrong. From the early 1970s until approximately 1979, Stanley Rader created and directed another organization funded by the church called the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation. This development sparked a public relations war between the younger evangelist Garner Ted Armstrong and financial strategist Stanley Rader, for continuing influence with the now elderly Armstrong regarding present financial dealings and who would inherit the future legitimate control of his wealthy church college. (See article on Stanley Rader for further detail.) Following a climax when the church was placed into involuntary financial receivorship by action of the State of California, legal battles to the [[USSC}}, California state legislature, with a major 60 Minutes segment on Columbia Broadcasting System|CBS, Stanley Rader retired with a large cash bonus from Armstrong, followed by a substantial pension.

Related Topics:
Garner Ted Armstrong - 1970s - Stanley Rader - 1979 - Ambassador International Cultural Foundation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It was during this era that Herbert W. Armstrong, widowed when his first wife Loma died in 1966, surprised church members by marrying a woman nearly 50 years his junior, Ramona Martin, in 1977. She lived in Tucson, Arizona. Armstrong found it convenient to move to Arizona during the California financial receivorship and orchestrated most church affairs from his temporary base in Tucson. Herbert W. Armstrong, 90, filed a petition for divorce from Ramona Armstrong,44, in April, 1982. They were divorced in Tucson, Arizona a year later 1983, after a lengthy, drawn out legal battle totaling more than 3,000 pages of testimony and documents disputing various aspects of the matter. Upon divorce, Armstrong moved back to the college he founded in Pasadena.

Related Topics:
1966 - 1977 - Tucson, Arizona - 1983

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~