Lara Roth-Biester

Lara Roth-Biester, cherished wife of Kara McGee, died peacefully on December 6, 2024 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center after a remarkable journey with Stage IV colon cancer. She was 53. Lara faced her long illness with a rare grace, determination, and laughter, inspiring all who knew her.

No one would guess that cosmopolitan, worldly Lara was born in Evanston, Illinois, the youngest of four children. As a child she overcame serious illness after a diagnosis of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a rare autoimmune disorder, cured by a splenectomy. Lara credited her subsequent ability to cope with years of cancer treatments to her early health issues. Lara was only 8 years old when her education was "outsourced to the Queen," and she was sent abroad to study and live in rural English boarding schools. She acquired a unique accent, attitude, and independent outlook on life, which would evolve and become classically, unmistakably 'Lara' over time.

She completed coursework for a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in classical archaeology from King's College, London in 1993. After moving back to the States in the late '90s, she continued her education, graduating Magna Cum Laude from Montclair State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the classics (Greek, Latin, Ancient History). In 2012, she completed her studies earning a Masters of Science degree from Pace University in computer science with a concentration in Ecommerce.

Early in her professional career, the stars aligned and she found her future wife Kara, then a teacher. They proceeded to create their marvelous life together. Lara joined Kara in her workplace, taking a position in the communications office at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx for many years. Lara was a gifted writer and editor with an extraordinary eye for detail and a deep patience that served her well.

Born with boundless curiosity and adoration of all things outer space, Lara might have become an astronaut; in her ideal world, her ashes would be "blasted into another galaxy." Her love of science, animals, music, art, film, TV, and a deep joy for reading were balanced with the quickest wit and rebellious, irreverent sense of humor. She charmed her friends with the bluest eyes and the most unforgettable laugh, and took delight in simple things whether reaching for the potatoes (mashed, preferably, but any type would do) or the karaoke microphone. Beyond these pleasures, Lara valued all the people in her life, and was a loyal and thoughtful friend.

In 2017 a Stage IV colon cancer diagnosis changed Lara's life, and the lives of those who loved her. After nearly two decades together, Lara and Kara were married in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and bought a little log cabin in Connecticut where Lara recuperated from her cancer treatments, enduring endless surgeries, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation throughout her entire cancer journey. Lara was heartbroken when their house was lost to a fire in 2023, but she moved back to New York with a pragmatic fortitude and resilience that helped them both through the tragic loss and transition. Although Lara lived with chronic, severe pain, most who met her never knew the extent of it as she always worried more about others than about herself. Even until her final days, after nearly 8 years of unimaginable suffering, she reiterated that her job as a patient was the easiest of all: "I merely present my body at the hospital at the appointed time and yield to the ministrations of world-class experts."

Lara certainly gave her world-class experts at Memorial Sloan Kettering a run for their money - and many a gray hair - along the way, particularly in the past 12 months and even in her final 12 weeks, when she traveled respectively to New Zealand in January 2024 (bungee swinging from the highest point in the world, with a spine terrifyingly, albeit unknowingly, full of cancer) and most recently to Scotland in September 2024, her "trip of a lifetime." In Scotland, she traveled to the farthest reaches of remote islands, impossibly distant from any appropriate or accessible medical services. She explored cobblestones, museums, potholes, ancient stairs, cathedrals, hills, sheep, whiskey, boats, sweeping vistas, and other delights and perils through sheer will and prescription medications. Her capacity for joy and adventure was matched by her ability to endure the pain of end-stage cancer, with a smile on her face and a love of life.

As Lara predicted, her cancer forced her to leave the life she loved far before her time: she is survived by her adoring wife, Kara McGee; her mother, Lois Frissell and stepfather Duncan Frissell; siblings Tiia Saunders, Derek Roth-Biester, and Heidi Roth-Biester; sister-in-law Nicola Roth-Biester; nieces and nephews Philippa, Henry, Gabriel, Thomas, Felix, Tabitha, and Sylvie; extended family and friends Shawn Thistlethwaite, Jessica Goldberg, Rebecca Roth-Biester, Georgia Tucker, Kristen and Sean Mathews, George and Kim McGee, Casey McGee, Richard and Julia Gilbert; and many more dear friends both near and far. She also is survived by her much-loved terrier Cookie, who provided endless hours of comfort during her illness. Lara was predeceased by her father, William Biester.

Lara's family wishes to thank Lara's extensive team of providers and staff at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for their extraordinary care, especially her oncologist Dr. Andrew Epstein, her Supportive Care nurse practitioners, and her devoted palliative care providers Dr. Natalie Moryl, Dr. Judith Nelson, and Dana Kramer, NP, all of whom cared for her as if she were their own family.

A woman of deep, private faith, she relied on prayer, pastoral guidance, and reading Anglican theology to buoy her throughout her long illness. According to her wishes, a funeral service will be held at 2pm on Saturday, December 21st, 2024, at Church of the Resurrection, 119 East 74th Street, New York, NY 10021. A live-stream of her funeral service will be available on the Church of the Resurrection website (http://resurrectionnyc.org/). Lara's ashes will be interred in a private ceremony in New Hampshire (alas, not into outer space) in Spring 2025.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making an online donation in Lara's name to support the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers (https://rosalynncarter.org/), the Carl Schurz Park Conservancy (https://www.carlschurzparknyc.org/), or a trusted non-profit animal welfare organization. Please indicate on the memo line that the gift is in memory of Lara Roth-Biester.