David W. H. Roth, Jr. died Feb. 27, 2017 at the age of 87. A resident of Blacksburg, he was a native of Allentown, Pennsylvania and had also lived in Chester and in northern New Jersey.
Dr. Roth, a chemical engineer, earned his B.S. at Lafayette College, his Master’s at Newark College of Engineering, and his Ph.D. at New Jersey Institute of Technology.
He held nine patents in chemical process technology with Allied Signal, and was a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering. He was employed for 43 years by Allied Chemical Corporation (now Honeywell) and retired in the mid-1990s as Vice President for Science and Technology.
Dr. Roth was preceded in death by his beloved wife Barbara Bray Roth, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 87. They had been together in marriage for 68 years, and had three sons, one of whom, Richard A. Roth, is still living. He resides in Blacksburg with his wife Polly and daughter Liza.
Besides granddaughter Liza, David and Barbara had two grandsons, David J. Roth of Hayden, Alabama and Douglas A. Roth of Chesterfield. They are also survived by three great-granddaughters, Megan, Madison and Melrose and two great-grandsons, Ryan and Devin.
Dr. Roth also is survived by two sisters, Betty Ann Roth Ferrera of Whitehall, Pennsylvania and Joanne Roth Buckley who lives in the Atlanta, Georgia area.
David Roth worked hard, enjoyed many successes and loved the good things in life, but above all he was devoted to his family, for whom his care and support never wavered.