Irving Roth

ROTH- Irving Roth, 92, passed away May 1, 2011 of esophageal cancer at age 92. He is survived by his daughter, Maxine Ficksman; son-in-law, David Ficksman; two grandchildren, Caroline and Eric Ficksman. He was preceded in death by his wife, Helen Roth. Irving was born in Passaic, New Jersey on January 5, 1919 to Max and Anna Roth. The war curtailed his education at Brooklyn College where he attended on a football scholarship. In May of 1941 he was drafted into the U.S. Army. In February 1942, he was sent to Alaska to build an airfield between two glaciers. After spending over a year in Alaska, he became a member of the Army Corps of Engineers and served in the European and Pacific campaigns. After the war, he started a successful business selling aluminum products where he met Chester Carity, Henry Hoffmann and Howard Friedman, three businessmen who owned and operated a mail order business in New York selling a wide variety of products. From there, they expanded into a land acquisition and petroleum business and purchased the Koontz Ranch and acreage from the King Ranch, which is now known as Rio Rancho. Upon joining the AMREP Corporation in 1961 as the national sales manager, Irving was sent to New Mexico to assess AMREP’s purchases. Irving found he and his wife, Helen, loved the area so much that in 1970 they decided to relocate to Rio Rancho from Long Island, New York, building their home on the newly built golf course, now known as Chamisa Hills Country Club. From there, the building of important structures such as a shopping center, industrial parks, a bank, a hotel, senior center, grocery store, movie theater and swimming pool were initiated. Several years later they decided to downsize and Irving built the first adult community for individuals 55 and older which was located close to the golf course. Irving was sometimes referred to as “Mr. Rio Rancho”. For more than 50 years, he has been a champion of Rio Rancho, serving as the first president of the Rio Rancho Chamber of Commerce and helping Rio Rancho become its own city with its own school district. He was also very supportive of Rio Rancho’s political candidates, developing a very special relationship with Pauline Eisenstadt for many years. Funeral Services will be held Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 11:00 am, Daniels Family Funeral Services, Sara Road Chapel, 4310 Sara Road SE and Meadowlark Lane (located inside Vista Verde Memorial Park), Rio Rancho, NM. Interment will follow at Vista Verde Memorial Park. Irving’s care has been entrusted to: Daniels Family Funeral Services Sara Road Chapel 4310 Sara Road SE Rio Rancho, New Mexico 87124 505-892-9920