Josephine Roth

Josephine Adams Osborn Roth

Surrounded by family, Josephine Adams Osborn Roth died on August 1st, 2019. Born on October 6th, 1924 in Philadelphia, she was the daughter of Marjorie Lamond and Fairfield Osborn, former President of the New York Zoological Society. Her grandfather was Henry Fairfield Osborn, a paleontologist, curator and President of the Board at American Museum of the Natural History. She grew up in New York City and Garrison, NY, and attended Barnard College.
When William Matson Roth met Joan, her pet snake Ajax was wrapped around her neck. Immediately, he fell madly in love with her. On April 13th, 1946, they married. He was to become a lifelong public servant, Chief International Trade Negotiator for the Kennedy Administration, and Regent for the University of California. The couple's shared passion for literature led them to honeymoon in Ireland where they bicycled for three months. Later, Joan and Bill would build a collection of art that reflected their love of Irish culture. They were always committed supporters of the arts.
Joan and Bill, dedicated conservationists, donated 450 acres of land, in honor of Joan's father, to Sonoma State University to form the Fairfield Osborn preserve, a center for education, research and conservation. In keeping with her love of nature and art, Joan was a photographer, whose images, often of trees and foliage, were in numerous exhibitions in the United States and in Ireland.
Joan spent her last years traveling between Petaluma, California and a home in New Inn, Tipperary, Ireland, where she and Bill had lived part time for 50 years. In Tipperary one could often find her taking strolls -- always with a dog at her side -- down the Boreen at sunset, visiting the pond to see the swallows dip, or sitting and listening to the sounds of trees and birds in the beech round.
Joan brought her sensitivity to beauty, sharp mind, and curiosity to every aspect of her life, including cooking, gardening, dressing, and raising her daughters. Her open mind and heart inspired all who knew her to strengthen their own connections to art and nature. She was an avid reader and a keen listener to classical music, creating communities that linked people to the arts, politics, and nature in every place she lived: New York, Princeton, Washington DC, Ireland and San Francisco.
The loving letters she wrote to friends and family were treasured. Her observations demonstrated her passion for the world around her and all its bounties. Her final project was Dog Tales, dedicated to her great-grandchildren, which tells stories about the dogs in her life. She is survived by her three daughters, Jessica, Maggie and Ana Roth, as well as her six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.