Charles Roth 08/08/2025

Charles “Charlie” Joseph Roth passed on from this world shortly after 1:00 AM on the morning of his 33rd wedding anniversary, August 8th, 2025, surrounded by his family.

Born on November 18th,1964 in St. Paul, Minnesota, the youngest of seven brothers and one sister, Charlie spent his early years living in the Crocus Hill neighborhood, where many childhood escapade stories and life-long friendships were born. After graduating from Cretin Hall, he attended the University of Minnesota, earning an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering. His fascination with ‘moving parts’ and the brains behind them led him to the University of Iowa for a Masters degree in electromechanical controls and ultimately his Professional Engineer license.

Charlie met his wife and best friend Kristina “Kiki” Gorbatenko-Roth on the night he graduated from college and three weeks before moving 8 hours away. They married in 1992 and lived in Minnesota, Iowa, and eastern-Wisconsin and enjoyed trips to Europe before ultimately settling down in Hudson, WI to raise their family. Together they had three children, Madeline “Maddie” Roth (Michael Dones Vazquez), Dmitri (Claire) Roth, and Evgenia “Evy” Roth, and countless pets.

He loved being a father and spent almost all his free time with his children; he was often found playing in the backyard with them (and the neighborhood kids) or engineering and building whatever new contraption his kids or wife needed for their current hobbies and interests. He happily supported and involved himself in all his children’s activities including but not limited to designing and building theatre sets (he was very proud of his laser-controlled elevator doors), driving across the state to watch lacrosse games in the freezing rain, and reminding his children he was in the audience by his distinguishable, LOUD ‘Charlie-Roth whistle’. He was a beloved son, husband, father, brother/brother-in-law, uncle, friend and ‘pet-person’, famous for his humor, playfulness, cooking, and crazy boat rides.

Charlie worked as a controls engineer for over thirty years. He was incredibly talented and a thoughtful teacher to many. His colleagues knew he was also practically smart as well as kind, so although it was not

in his job description, he was often called when a production line went down and no one else could fix it. He loved creating clever designs to solve real-world problems: from a laser-activated live mouse trap in his home, to sustainable bio-diesel fuel creation, to rewiring the electrical system for a school in Jamaica.

Born and raised in the Catholic tradition, Charlie was never forceful in his evangelism yet stood firm in his own faith. He was convinced that actions softened hearts to the gospel more than words alone could ever do. Always eager to lend a helping hand to friend or stranger, Charlie left a legacy of service, humility, generosity and kindness. He was a long-time member of Saint Patrick’s and Saint Bridget’s Catholic Churches.

Diagnosed with Stage IV cholangiocarcinoma in March of 2021, Charlie was given a prognosis of six to eighteen months to live. Despite this grim outlook,

 Charlie set his mind to fight the odds and asked those around him to avoid treating him as if he were already gone. He strove to live every day in a way that drew him closer to God and his community. He prayed, biked, cooked, laughed, and volunteered until he physically could not. He made sure to enjoy his family and friends, nature, the sun on his face, good cups of coffee, and delicious pastries. He tried every treatment available to him, including chemotherapy, radiation, and experimental trials, until there were no options left. Charlie ultimately outlived the upper limit of his prognosis by three years. For this, and for all who supported him in this fight, including his medical team that became dear friends, he had deep gratitude.

Many have commented on his perseverance and the nobleness of his fight against cancer, which he chronicled so transparently via his CaringBridge site. His stance during his four-and-a-half-year battle was not out of stubbornness or fear of death; instead, it was a continuation of the way he lived his life. He fought for his family, his friends, and his faith and used his cancer journey to show his love for each. He lived a great life in every sense of the word.

Charlie will be greatly missed by his surviving family: wife and children; mother Janet Roth; siblings Victoria Roth (Mark Bratcher), Steve Jr. (Maryann), Kurt (Mary Jo), Kevin (Terri), Shane (Rene), Chad (Ginger Williams), and Guy Roth (Pat); in-laws Margaret Gorbatenko (Paul Fuchs), Jeanne (Tim) Anderson, and Greg (Karen) Gorbatenko; father in-law, George Gorbatenko, Sr.; and 36 nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his father Steve Roth Sr., brother-in-law George Gorbatenko Jr., and mother-in-law Mary Gorbatenko.

The family kindly requests that monetary gifts honoring Charlie’s legacy be directed to the family C/O Claire Zajac 2224 White Pine Court Hudson, WI 54016. A charitable account will be established in his name to continue what Charlie did throughout his time on earth: seeing and directly serving people in need in our local community and world.

Visitation was Wednesday, August 27, 2025 from 4-8 pm with memory sharing at 7:30 pm at Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services 805 E Division Street River Falls, WI.  Mass of Christian burial was Thursday, August 28, 2025 at 11 am at St. Bridget Catholic Church 211 E Division Street River Falls, WI with visitation from 10-11 am. Private family interment is in St. Bridget Cemetery.  Arrangements are with Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services.

Click here to watch the recording of Charlie’s service.