Published by Legacy Remembers from Aug. 19 to Aug. 23, 2020.
TUSCALOOSA - Frank Alwin Roth, II, age 72, passed away at home on August 15, 2020 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. He was born October 16, 1947 in Baton Rouge, La., to Walter Roth and Ada Lillie Adkisson Roth and grew up there with his two brothers, Bill and Henry. He earned a Bachelor's and Master's in forestry from Louisiana State University, where he met and married Beverly Tye Roth at Saint Alban's Episcopal Chapel on January 18, 1969.
He was a veteran, 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army from 1972-4, serving at the Defense Contract Administration in Atlanta, Ga. before continuing his education and earning a Doctorate in Forestry from Stephen F. Austin University in 1980. He had a long career in forestry research and extension, teaching, and consulting while living in Selma, Ala. and later, Hope, Ark. He mentored many of today's foresters through 4-H and teaching and was a leader for many years in the National 4-H Forestry Invitational.
While raising three daughters, he volunteered in their various pursuits and found time to serve his communities and live out his faith. He was a Boy Scout leader, a Kiwanian for over 30 years, a lay leader at church, and a staff member for Kairos Prison Ministry and Episcopal Cursillo weekends. Later in life, he was ordained as an Episcopal priest and served at Saint Mark's in Hope, Ark. and Saint Matthias, Tuscaloosa. He retired in 2013 and continued to serve frequently with Kairos Prison Ministry, even as he became disabled with Parkinson's.
He was a devoted, lifelong LSU Tigers fan since boyhood, a traveler always planning his next adventure, and a lifelong learner, both a student and a teacher at the University of Alabama's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute until his disease prevented him from continuing.
He was a steadfast father to his three daughters and beloved Papa to eight grandchildren. In 2019 the family gathered in Seagrove, Fla., to celebrate his and Beverly's 50th anniversary, a memory all hold dear. His last months were spent as the past 51 years had been; at home in the care of his wife, with a dog wagging her tail nearby. As disability encumbered his body and dementia his mind, he never complained and never lost faith in his belief that God would carry his burdens and see him through.
Frank was preceded in death by his parents, Walter A. Roth and Ada Lillie Adkisson Roth; and grandson, William Jacob Burnette. He is survived by his wife, Beverly Tye Roth; daughters, Jennifer Roth-Burnette (Marc) of Tuscaloosa, Amy Roth Simian (Esteban) of Atlanta, Ga., and Catherine Roth-Baker (Ron) of Seattle, Wash.; grandchildren, Isaac and Felix Burnette of Tuscaloosa, Olivia and Emeline Simian of Atlanta, Ga., and Clara, Lillian, and Camilla Baker of Seattle, Wash.; brothers, William Roth of Decatur, Ga. and Henry Roth (Alison) of Tampa, Fla., six nephews and Godson Christopher Cunningham.
The family is grateful indeed for its wealth of dedicated friends whose love, prayers and various forms of support sustained us during Frank's last illness and the confines of Covid-19. The family expresses gratitude to Hospice of West Alabama and to Carolyn Maddox, Debra Hamner, and Muriel Williams, devoted full-time caregivers whose gentle help enabled Frank to enjoy staying at home till he departed for the life for which he was created, in heaven.
Frank will be laid to rest in the columbarium at Canterbury Episcopal Chapel. The family will hold a private/virtual funeral service due to the ongoing pandemic.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Frank A. Roth II D.F. Scholarship to support graduate students in forestry, wildlife, and agriculture at Stephen F. Austin University. Donations via
https://forms.sfasu.edu/giving/onlinegift.asp (select College of Forestry and Agriculture and note Frank A. Roth II D. F. Scholarship in "special instructions") or by mail to: SFASU Office of Development, PO Box 6092, SFA Station, Nacogdoches, TX 75692-6092.
