Vera Leona Roth's Obituary
Vera Leona Roth passed away in St. Helens, Oregon on February 1, 2022, at the age of 89 with family by her side.
Vera was born on April 4, 1932, in McMinnville, Oregon, a 4th generation Oregonian. She attended grade school in a one-room schoolhouse in Bacona with one teacher for eight grades. It was a good education as she went on to graduate with honors from Hillsboro High School. She then attended Oregon State College (now Oregon State University).
When her extended family moved to California to pursue logging she was up for the adventure, working two jobs for an obstetrician and the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce. During this time she met her husband and father of her children, Bernie Roth. In 1961, she and her growing family, along with her parents, moved back to Oregon and settled in Scappoose. Here, she and her parents went into business together forming Bates & Roth Ranch, producing everything from cattle and hogs to hay, silage and forage seed. In addition to raising two boys on her own, she worked daily on the farm and you would often see Vera driving a Freightliner truck loaded with 40 hogs multiple times a week to the slaughter house on Columbia Blvd. in Portland. She maintained the needed parts inventory, all farm records and kept the books for the entire 300-acre operation.
On the farm, she and her parents grew an enormous vegetable garden and fruit orchard. She loved to can and no one did it like her. Every year she would enter her canned fruits, vegetables and pickles in local fairs taking top awards in numerous categories year after year. She called herself The Pickle Queen! Her vast array of pickled items, jams and canned goods were beyond delicious.
Through all of her work and accomplishments, it was being a mother she loved most. She wanted two boys and that’s exactly what she got. Whether working on the farm, hunting, wrestling, horseback riding (parades, gaming and showing), band, schoolwork and motor powered escapades...she was there for it all and helped make every little dream a reality. She always had a pink fluoride pill on the table every morning with a hot breakfast – neither one of her boys ever had a cavity. More than once, when it came time for show and tell at school, Vera would load up a recent litter of pigs or a new born foal in the back of her station wagon for display at one her boys’ classrooms.
She was a 4-H horse club leader for many young Scappoose area horse riders for many years and served as President of the Columbia County 4-H Leaders Association. The Columbia County Fair was very near and dear to her heart and she was a strong supporter over the years. She was the first to donate to the Friends of Columbia County Fair 4-H and youth agricultural program.
She is survived by her son Gary Roth and wife Christine; daughter-in-law Debbie Roth; grandchildren Luke, Jordan, Anna and Matthew; numerous cousins from the Laughlin side of her family in Yamhill, as well as nieces and a nephew.
She is predeceased by her son Brian Roth; parents Chester Bates and Leona Laughlin Bates; ex-husband Bernard W. Roth; and brother William M. Bates.
A celebration of her life will be held Thursday, July 28, 1:30 p.m. at the Columbia County Fairgrounds Pavilion. Barbecue to follow. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Friends of Columbia County Fair, a 501(c)(3), 57826 Old Portland Road, Warren, OR 97053.
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