It is with deep sadness that we advise of the passing of Rodney (Rod) Roth on March 25th, 2020 at the age of 77. He was the only child of Merrill and Ivy Roth (both deceased) of North Plains, Oregon.
Rod had been fighting cancer for the past several years and passed away in his home with his wife Kim Alford, and close friend and business partner Sal Gonzalez by his side.
Rod began working at age 14 in his father’s plastic molding company in Portland, Oregon.
He graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. Upon completion, he then pursued his MBA. Rod had served the country for five years as an Intelligence officer in Thailand, during the Vietnam war. He was honorably discharged as a US Air Force Major in 1993.
Rod then returned to his father’s molding company and ran for and was elected as Washington County Commissioner. After his term, he returned again to his father’s molding company and contributed greatly to their sales force, and as general manager and then company president. When his father’s company fell on hard times and was sold, Rod worked briefly for another molding company and then in 1996 saved up enough money to start his own molding company, R&D Plastics, with partners Sal Gonzalez and Janet Evensen. Since then his company has grown in the industry and currently has over 65 employees.
In his younger years, Rod spent a lot of time exercising, running and playing competitive racquetball. As he got older, he still maintained a very active lifestyle and took up ballroom dancing (West Coast Swing) which is where he met Kim Alford. They spent evenings taking dance lessons and at various times participating in dance exhibitions. After almost 16 years as dance partners and sharing their lives together, they were married in June of 2019.
Rod was one of the friendliest guys and was always invested in helping others. He treated his employees, customers and suppliers more like family. He has supported thousands of students interested in the plastics industry through visits to his company, presentations, internships and many other functions that he organized. He was an extraordinary man and passionate about helping young people with an interest in the plastics industry. He established and funded three different scholarships in the Plastics Engineering program at Western Washington University in the names of his parents and himself.
Rod put his heart and soul into his company and also the plastics industry. He was also very supportive of the local community.
Rod will long be missed and remembered. The business he co-founded in 1996 will continue to move forward and honor his hard work, his vision and his legacy.
A “celebration of life” will be held as soon as the pandemic safely allows.
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