Former Monroe County Sheriff Rick Roth, known for his long
service and visionary leadership, quietly passed away Tuesday night surrounded
by family.
He was 80. Sheriff Roth of Grassy Key is survived by his two
daughters, Cathy and Deanna, as well as his granddaughter Rayna.
“It is a sad day at the Sheriff’s Office as Sheriff Rick
Roth passed away Tuesday night,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay. “Sheriff Roth had
confidence in me and helped me be the person I am today. Myself and this agency
are successful because of Sheriff Roth. I will be forever grateful for his
friendship and mentorship. He will always be remembered as one of the greatest
leaders to wear the badge. Our thoughts are with his family and to all who had
the pleasure of knowing him.”
Sheriff Roth was originally from Minnesota, but his service
in the U.S. Navy brought him to Monroe County whereupon he met and married the
love of his life, Sandra Handley Roth, in 1959. (Sandra Handley Roth passed
away in 2016 at the age of 76).
The Roths briefly moved to Minnesota, but the new family
would move back to the Florida Keys shortly thereafter when Sheriff Roth
received a job offer as a Sheriff’s Office 911 dispatcher.
Sheriff Roth enjoyed recalling the story of his family’s
move back to Monroe County: As they drove south on the Turnpike in their little
1957 Chevrolet, they noticed everyone else was headed north. Hurricane Betsy
had just torn through the Keys. Sheriff Roth made his job interview despite the
hurricane and so began his 43 years of service — 18 as Sheriff.
Sheriff Roth would enjoy a career that included working with
then Sheriff William Freeman’s efforts to eradicate drug smuggling in the Keys
in the 1970s and then the Mariel Boat Lift of the 1980s, which came at a time
when there were very few Spanish speakers in the agency, as Sheriff Roth often
recalled.
By the time he became Sheriff, Sheriff Roth developed the
professional vision that shaped the Sheriff’s Office into the modern agency it
is today. He forged goals that made the Sheriff’s Office a state and national
accredited law enforcement agency.
An animal lover, Sheriff Roth played a key role in getting
the much loved Sheriff’s Office Animal Farm off the ground. What started with a
few ducks from the golf course, the Animal Farm is now a full scale forever
home for a litany of creatures which attracts global media attention as well as
thousands of visitors a month.
The Trauma Star air ambulance helicopter program began under
the vision of Sheriff Rick Roth in 2002. That year, the agency acquired its
first helicopter. The program grew in the years thereafter and now three
aircraft serve the community with an additional base operating at Lower Keys
Medical Center in Key West as well as out of the original hangar at the Florida
Keys Marathon International Airport. The aircraft currently perform more than
1,000 flights a year. This premier life-saving program exists due to the
vision, dedication and leadership of Sheriff Roth.
Sheriff Roth retired in January 2009, but his legacy at the
Sheriff’s Office will never be forgotten.
“Sheriff Roth had many accomplishments we will always
remember, but none greater than being beloved by the community he so proudly
served for the majority of his life,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay.
Sheriff Ramsay ordered all Sheriff’s Office Commanders to place
all flags at half-staff Wednesday morning.
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