Ardath Harter Rodale, former head of Rodale publishing company in eastern Pa., dies at 81
By APFriday, December 18, 2009
Former publishing chief Ardath Harter Rodale dies
EMMAUS, Pa. — Ardath Harter Rodale, former head of the Pennsylvania-based Rodale publishing company, has died. She was 81.
The company says Rodale died at home early Friday.
She started working at Rodale in 1956, overseeing the development and renovations of the company’s headquarters in the eastern Pennsylvania town of Emmaus.
She took over as chairman in 1990 after her husband died in a traffic accident while on a business trip to Russia.
She resigned the post in 2007; her daughter, Maria Rodale, now heads the company.
The company publishes magazines that include Prevention, Men’s Health and Runner’s World; it also publishes self-help books and memoirs.
Rodale is survived by two siblings, three daughters, a son, and 11 grandchildren. Another son died in 1985.
