William Edgar Rau

August 4, 1929 - February 21, 2018

William Rau was a career Foreign Service Officer with over thirty years of service in five different countries (Greece, Egypt, South Africa, Afghanistan, and Turkey), as well as in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as director of the Turkish-U.S. Business Council. His last appointment in the Foreign Service was as Consul General at the American Consulate General in Istanbul, Turkey. He primarily served as an Economic and Commercial officer in his various assignments in the Foreign Service. His career as an American diplomat started in 1957, and continued to 1988, after which he worked for eight years in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Rau was originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He attended the University of Missouri on two different occasions, where he earned a B.S. in Public Administration, and an M.A. in Political Science. He also instructed Political Science at the University of Missouri. He continued his graduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley. In addition, Mr. Rau served as a First Lieutenant for three years in the U.S. Army Finance Corps in Indianapolis, Indiana and in San Antonio, Texas. He was fluent in Turkish (both speaking and writing), Modern Greek, and French, and also had a basic knowledge of Spanish and Afrikaans.

Mr. Rau was married to Sara Jeanne Shoftstall for 65 years until her passing in August of last year. He is survived by four sons; Kenneth, Matthew, Jonathan, and Christopher, their spouses, Janet, Eunja, Pelin, and Susan, and seven grandchildren; Dorothy, Benjamin, Katharine, Harrison, Alexander, Mackenzie, and Jordan.

Mr. Rau spent his retirement travelling with Mrs. Rau to numerous countries and locales all over the world. His passion for music was well-known among family and friends, and he particularly loved jazz music. He played the tenor saxophone and clarinet throughout his life with various groups. He was also an ardent baseball fan, playing as a young man and maintaining his enthusiasm for the game throughout his life

The memorial service will be on Sunday, April 8 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church located at 301 A Street, SE, Washington, D.C. in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

Funeral arrangements under the direction of Murphy Funeral Home, 1102 West Broad St., Falls Church, VA 22046