Andrew George Roth

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Andrew George Roth of Highland died on December 10, 2021, in Poughkeepsie, New York.Born in Brooklyn, New York, on January 11, 1953, he was the only child of Ileana Stern and Jeno Roth, who predeceased him.

Andy spent his youth in Brooklyn and Queens, and from a young age had an insatiable intellectual curiosity. He attended Yeshiva Etz Chaim, Yeshiva Flatbush, and the Francis Lewis High School. He graduated from Cornell University in 1974 with a degree in physics and literature, and he carried these dual passions – science and literature – throughout his life.

Andrew completed medical school and a surgery residency at the University of Rochester, followed by a fellowship in plastic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. A skilled plastic and reconstructive surgeon, he opened his own practice in Roanoke, Virginia, and was president of the Virginia Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. After retiring from medicine in 2005, he pursued his lifelong interest in writing, earning an MFA in creative writing from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts.

Andy was a beautiful writer and a powerful storyteller, with a dry sense of humor. He carried a notebook with him everywhere to jot down words that resonated with him or story ideas. He had artist residencies at the McDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, and at Willapa Bay AiR in Oysterville, Washington.
Andy had an encyclopedic knowledge of movies and film history, and many other interests. He was a voracious reader, often reading two or three books at once. As a result, he could speak with some expertise on almost any subject. Music was another passion of his. He played the piano beautifully, and would play for his family on holidays. An ear for languages, he spoke Hebrew, Hungarian, French, and Spanish.

He enjoyed games of strategy, including chess, go, poker, and bridge, and played basketball, hockey, and table tennis. Andy found peace in nature and loved animals. Dogs loved his calm demeanor, and he felt a kinship with them.

He was selective about the people he spent time with, but he could talk to anyone, and he appreciated meeting people with different experiences than he’d had. His friends knew him as a fun guy, with great stories.

He is survived by his daughter, Dana Roth Maglic, and his son, Alexander David Roth, and their respective partners, Dejan Maglic, and Justine Johnson, and by the mother of his children, Linda Pomeroy Roth.

His children were the joy of his life.

A private service will be held on Tuesday, December 14, at the New Paltz Rural Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to an organization devoted to environmental conservation.