Emilio G Roth

We celebrate the life of Emilio G Roth a husband to Helen C Roth and father to Steve and Thomas his two children, along with his extended family of Joane and Sofia with Stephanie, Alex, Sara and Michelle, his four grandchildren whom he dearly loved. He lived a long a productive, fortunate and happy life, which began in Vienna, Austria on Nov 14, 1921, born to Albert and Olga Roth the only son, who was to our fortune removed from the Europe of that period in where his mom did not want him to become part of the Hitler youth movement, which was running rampant in those years. He made several transatlantic voyages in those years, as travel was limited to three weeks on the ocean and many ports of call. They finally ended up in Mexico City, after arriving there from Cuba.

Once in Mexico he fell in love with the country of those years, quickly adopting not only his culture but it's language. He settled in that city to grow into a young man who was able to pursue his dream of playing soccer, given his aptitude for the sport and having played youth soccer in his native Austria. He excelled at the game he always so loved , and as he grew into his body which was of a six foot one inch frame, he quickly became a wanted player, and ended up playing professional for eleven years,in two different teams. On insistence by his Mother, she wanted him to have a career, and so he studied textile engineering, which quickly became of no use to him, due to the lack of available jobs in that field at the time. Seeing this as his future he also began working as an apprentice in a dental laboratory, a field that unknown to him at the time would be the work he would perform as a Master Dental Technician for 72 consecutive years.

In his playing days he would take the off season on the team in Mexico and come to the United States, to play soccer on loan, to stay in shape and learn English. He played with a team called the Vikings, in Chicago, and one morning over breakfast with a friend of his, he met his future wife, Helen Colliu, who happened to be at that eatery for breakfast. They met and dated for about 4 months and he then proposed to Helen, she accepted and they married quickly thereafter. After their marriage he continued to play soccer, and as well worked in a Chicago dental lab, learning his trade. Circa 1950 they packed up their apartment and moved back to Mexico City, where he started his own first dental lab. Slowly as he progressed in business, he began to develop a large following of dentists. At that time as his business grew, in 1954 in Mexico their first child was born, Steven Christopher Roth, as his playing years waned, as age crept up on him as well as injuries, he began to dedicate himself in full to succeeding in his chosen field. 22 months after his first born, his second came along, Thomas Anthony Roth. Now being a full fledged family and business man, he turned his attentions to his post playing days, in which never wanting to be separated from his beloved soccer, he began part time writing, for local news papers, as he had made many contacts from his playing days.

Along the way never giving up his daytime profession, he met a myriad of different people and personalities of his time. On one of his buying trips to the US, specifically in Chicago, he met a man called George Gillette who was highly involved with the Harlem Globetrotter organization. They became friends, and Mr. Gillette knowing that Leo was tri-lingual, he offered him an interesting position with the same organization, International representative to the Globetrotter organization, and his position was to be an advance man for the team when they traveled to Mexico, Central and South America, he in essence booked the teams tours and traveled with the team in those countries.

Those years opened up a myriad of doors for him, at which time he began to meet famous athletes of those years, many of which he interviewed and a select few he became personal friends with, like Johnny Weismuller, who being from Austria himself had a lot in common with. Over those years his business flourished as did his brief, but exciting career with the Trotters which lasted about 6 years, when the organization was sold. By that time he had already taken his family to live in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in the early 1970's. His stay was short lived in those years in Florida, as he had ample ties in Mexico to which he returned in early 1973. He continued his life in Mexico City until 1980, when he sold his laboratory and moved to the city of Guadalajara, where he dabbled in the dental field as well but also continued his love of soccer, although now guiding Steve in his professional soccer career. His son, having graduated from dental school, had opted to open a Dental office in that city. He then opened a small but productive dental lab servicing local dentists along with his son's office. He was proud that his children had opted for two careers that he so totally devoted his life to.

1985 brought turmoil to Mexico, so he decided it was time to move back to the US for good. Late 1985 brought about that move, when he left Guadalajara and came back to settle in Ft. Lauderdale, where he again opened a dental lab, but now partnering with Steve, as he had been injured and his career in soccer ended. Through the years he had trained Steve in the dental laboratory field, which they both ran until he decided to call it a day after 72 consecutive years of operations in different places.

He had been playing tennis for some years, having started the game in the mid 60's. He had joined the Tennis Club of Ft. Lauderdale, where he continued to play the game even through his early 89th year of life, when failing health issues forced him to retire his racquet and shoes in the summer of 2011. He lived a long dignified life, enjoying many diverse interests. A wonderful man full of joy, a gentle soul unparalleled. He will live in the memory of all who knew him and his gentle ways. May he rest easy now that he has joined his mother.