Obituaries

John Herman Roth, age 76, of Villa Hills, KY, born December 30, 1949 in Covington, KY, passed away on Saturday, September 5, 2026 at Madonna Manor in Villa Hills, KY.

John was employed as an engineer for the Department of Defense until 2015. He worked in Newport News, VA, Saint Louis, MO and Detroit, MI and returned to Northern Kentucky in his retirement. He attended Covington Latin School and earned a degree in physics from Thomas More College.

John enjoyed chess, studying languages, and staying up on physics and new discoveries in the cosmos. He especially enjoyed time with his fiancée Jan Lawson while they were both living at Colonial Gardens in Florence until early this year.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Henry “Bernie” and Harriet (nee Feldman) Roth, his former wife Mary Ann “Nancy” (nee Nare), his sister Janice (nee Roth) Wainscott, and brother-in-law Mark Caudill.

He is survived by fiancée Jan Lawson; two children Julie (James) Roth Barkin and John B. Roth; his siblings, Jeff (Martha) Roth, Jean (nee Roth) Caudill, Jim (Carolyn) Roth, and Tim Wainscott; as well as numerous nephews, nieces, and cousins.

A visitation from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 2 p.m., will be held on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at Madonna Manor’s chapel in Villa Hills, Kentucky. Following Mass, a reception will be held in the Adelaide Center, across the parking lot from the chapel. A private interment will be at a later time at St. John’s Cemetery in Fort Wright, KY.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Madonna Manor Benevolent Care Fund at 2344 Amsterdam Road, Villa Hills, KY 41017 or Bluegrass Care Navigators Hospice at 51 Cavalier Blvd., Suite 200, Florence, KY 41042.