Upstander Profile-Edith Kann Roth

Name: Edith Kann Roth

DOB: July 28^th, 1933

DOD (date of death): May 8^th,2008

Age: 74

Unlike her sister, Renee, who was born Ruth at birth, Edith was born just Edith. Edith Kann was born on July 28^th, 1933 in Saarland. She was the baby of the family. Unlike Renee, who had red hair and green eyes, Edith was a Strawberry blonde and had blue eyes. Edith was delicate child, due to her health problems, which would later on progressively get worse than better. Edith would be very young when WWII broke out and her family would send her and her sister, Renee to Le-Chambon, where Edith would stay with a family that was not with Renee. But Edith would get to see Renee at times, and she did not feel the sense of loneliness that Renee felt. Like typical sisters, Edith and Renee fought occasionally and according to her sister, Renee, “Yes, Edith and I fought occasionally. Never anything serious. Although she was only 2 1/2 years younger than I somehow she seemed much younger. I was very protective of her. She was also very stubborn and I had learned to just walk away from arguments with her. If she said the earth was really square, there was no point in arguing with her!” Edith was 14 when she immigrated to the US with her family. Like Renee, she took the summer course at the Taylor Allderdice High School where she would improve on her English. Unlike Renee, who only did her senior year, Edith did all four years of Highschool, where she would be exposed to a whole different life-style. According to her sister, Renee, “Edith fitted in very quickly and comfortably. It was the first "permanent" setting for both of us.” For college, Edith went to a medical secretarial school and then in 1953, three years after her sister Renee got married, she married a man by the name of Paul Roth. They had four children and Edith then became a grandmother of two. She loved her grandchildren very much and like grandmothers around the globe, tries to indeed spoil their grandchildren as much as they possibly could. They divorced after 25 years of marriage. Unfortunately, Edith was a diabetic. According to her sister, Renee, “ Edith did not develop diabetes until her forties. She began to take insulin at that time. Eventually, she required dialysis.” In a letter to the author of this novel, Renee said that Edith’s last years would be spent in Orlando, FL. Her daughter, Miriam would take care of her, while Edith was placed in a nursing home. Edith unfortunately succumbed to her diabetes and health problems on May 8^th2008 at the age of 74.