Ann Green Roff

Ann Green Roff passed away in Houston on Saturday, the 7th of March 2026. She was 91 years of age. Annie Lee Green was born in Jacksonville, Alabama on the 20th of September 1934, to Louise Johnston Green and Ernest Lee Green. In 1956, she married J. Hugh Roff, Jr., her devoted husband of 62 years, who preceded her in death in 2019. Together, Ann and Hugh shepherded a family of five children and 21 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Ann’s early years were not easy, yet with a combination of fortitude, intelligence and loyalty, she went on to live an extraordinary life that led her across the country and around the world, always hand-in-hand with her beloved husband Hugh.

Ann was born at a time of deep economic depression in Alabama. Ann’s father died at an early age, leaving his wife and six children to live in a small farmhouse with a dirt floor and a leaky tin roof. The family grew whatever they needed to survive, and young Ann rose to the challenge. By the time she was 10, she could pick over 100 pounds of cotton a day. She went to school and worked the fields during daylight hours, then did her homework by candlelight at night, always earning the top grades in her class.

In her youth, Ann’s determination and intelligence led her to receive multiple accolades in both agriculture and academics. As a member of the Calhoun County 4-H Club in the late 40’s, she earned first place in gardening three years in a row. At the age of 13, she raised and canned more than 350 quarts of vegetables, enough to feed her whole family and sell the surplus for $716 (today’s equivalent of $9,700). A year later, she won Grand Champion of all classes at the Calhoun County Fair for her heifer, “Sears Cattlelog No. 1”, and was selected to be a representative at the annual 4-H National Congress, an honor given to .02% of all 4-H members.

Ann excelled in the classroom as well. In 1952, Ann entered an academic competition and was named one of four national champions. Her award was a full scholarship to study at the Babson Institute, now known as Babson College. Although she was thrilled by the chance to attend college, Ann chose instead to stay home and get a job to help support her family, a decision that was characteristic of her lifelong devotion to family.

Ann’s first job was at the First National Bank of Anniston, where she quickly rose to become head cashier. Shortly after receiving her promotion, she learned that a less proficient, less experienced employee was earning more money than she was. When she asked the bank manager about the discrepancy, he simply explained that it only made sense for a man to earn more money than a woman. Never one to suffer fools lightly, Ann informed her boss that she would be switching jobs to a place that respected her worth.

The next week, Ann was hired as a cashier at Fort McClellan, a U.S. Army post in Anniston. This job change recast the course of her life, for it was in the Fort McClellan cafeteria that Ann met Captain J. Hugh Roff, Jr., who was serving in the army’s JAG program. They were married a year later and soon started a family. Between 1956 and 1973, the couple moved their growing family from Alabama to Oklahoma City to St. Louis to New York to Houston, with Ann creating a loving home wherever they landed.

As Hugh took the helm at United Energy Resources in Houston in 1974, Ann chased after their 3-year-old twin daughters, got the three boys settled into their new schools, and set up a new home for all of them. That same year, Hugh suffered a devastating heart attack and underwent open heart surgery. Throughout it all, Ann remained stalwart, keeping her family going with her trademark combination of perseverance and love.

In 1975, Ann and Hugh were able to truly settle into their new life in Houston. They began by joining St. Paul's United Methodist Church, which they attended and supported for the rest of their lives. They generously offered their time, talents and financial support to many impactful causes, including Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University, the Houston Symphony, Methodist Hospital and The Blue Bird Circle, where Ann volunteered for 15 years as a store manager of the Blue Bird Circle Shop. Ann also served on the Museum of Fine Arts Houston Chinese Arts Committee, and was a founding member of the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary of Houston. In 2011, she and Hugh proposed and provided seed funding for Sally’s House, the first emergency women's shelter in Houston. In 2023, Ann was honored by The Salvation Army Women's Auxiliary for her generous support and longtime service commitment to The Salvation Army and to many other worthy organizations across Houston.

Ann never wasted a minute of life. In her “downtime”, she was an avid reader, a determined crossword puzzler, an astute huntress of bargains, and an absolute fiend for exercise - she was known to play two sets of tennis, then do 30 minutes on the highest stair-stepper setting, and finish off with a run around the three-mile loop at Memorial Park. She was fascinated by art and sculpture, and she loved to travel and learn how people live around the world. She and Hugh ventured to over 30 countries, from Soviet Russia to Morocco to Vietnam to Tahiti to Qatar. But of all the places in the world, she most adored Paris, which she visited

frequently, most notably when her friends Aileen and I.M. Pei gave her a private tour of the new addition to the Louvre.

Ann will be remembered with love and respect by many, most especially her children and their spouses, John and Mary Katharine, Charles and Nathalie, Andrew and Debbie, Elizabeth Roff and Dave Steiner, Jennifer Roff and Brad Schiff; her grandchildren and their spouses, John Hugh and Julia, Thomas and Haley, Emily Roff and Ismet Jooma, Stephanie Roff-Hopen and Andrew Hopen, Annie, William, Rebecca, Elizabeth Lee, Amanda, Tom, Adelaide, Josie, Annabel, and Zelda; and her great grandchildren, Anne, Marshall, Lilly, Grace, Joe, Clara and Virginia.

The family wishes to thank the many caring people who provided invaluable support to Ann in her later years: Bessie Grahmann, Claribel Alfaro, Tetiana Bradford, Oksana Godnnyk, Masha Kurbatskaya and Olga Utkina.

Friends are cordially invited to gather with the family and share remembrances of Mrs. Roff from five o’clock in the afternoon until seven o’clock in the evening on Wednesday, the 11th of March, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Mrs. Roff is to be conducted at two o’clock in the afternoon on Thursday, the 12th March in the sanctuary of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 5501 Main Street in Houston, where Rev. Dr. Jeff McDonald, Senior Pastor of St. Paul's United Methodist Church is to officiate.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the Fondren Hall.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests memorial contributions be directed to The Salvation Army of Greater Houston by selecting the link under the ‘Donations’ section below, or to a charity of your choice.

We invite you to take a few moments to share memories and words of comfort and condolence with her family by selecting ‘Add a Memory’ under the ‘Show your Support’ section below.