Carl was nothing but an amazing man who lived to be 108 1/2 years old. He attributed his longevity to his faith, food, and family and friends including those who cared for him. Carl was born in Kelley, Montana on April 1, 1918, of the late Carl (Charles) August Roth and Hanna Ruth Thieme. He lived with five siblings in a two-room house with a loft. One room for the girls and one room for the boys. They had one milk cow and some mules to pull the cart and plow. His family grew to nine brothers and sisters. The family moved to Nebraska where they rented land to farm. He graduated from Indiana Technical College with a degree in radio engineering. The family’s faith was strong and was well known at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Delray Beach, Florida. He and his wife, Pauline, were faithful members of Faith Lutheran Church in Merritt Island, Florida for 52 years. Carl met Pauline at Walther League at First Trinity Lutheran Church in Washington, D.C. when he worked for the Naval Research Laboratory. They married in 1944. As his family grew, his career focused on the aerospace industry. He worked for NASA as an electrical engineer. He retired in 1977 after 35 years of Federal Service. He championed a ground crew that assisted the development of the Apollo missile that took the three astronauts to the moon in 1969. He and his family lived in Cocoa, Florida beginning in 1967 until he moved to Lutheran Haven in Oviedo, Florida in 2019. He lived through the Spanish flu in 1918 and the Covid pandemic that started in 2019. He never got Covid. He was dedicated to his family, an expert gardener, loved woodworking, and built his own house in North Carolina including the masonry. He is survived by his four children, Don, Karen, Jane, and Nancy. He has five grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild, and an abundance of additional family and friends. He will be greatly missed.
A Memorial Service will be held on November 15, 2026 at 2 p.m. at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church Sanctuary located at 2021 W. State Road 426, Oviedo, Florida 32765, (407) 365-3408. A reception will follow the service. His Interment will be held on November 16, 2026 at 12:15 p.m. at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery located at 5525 U.S. Highway 1, Mims, Florida 32754, (321) 383-2638.
Memorials in memory of Carl Roth may be directed to Lutheran World Relief, Doctors Without Borders, and LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs Ministry (Lutheran Church Charities).
