Four life history interviews conducted by Maia Fischler.
September - November 2007Location: Starker Roth residence, Corvallis, Oregon.
Jean Starker Roth (1920-2015) was an influential alumna who supported a wide range of initiatives on the OSU campus and in the Corvallis community. The daughter of T.J. Starker - an OAC graduate and faculty member in Forestry, and a successful businessman and civic leader - Starker Roth completed her degree in Home Economics in 1942. She worked for seven years as a teacher and Extension staffer, and also supported the war effort at Camp Adair and elsewhere. In 1948 she married Kermit Roth, and over the decades that ensued the couple raised four children. After Kermit's death in 1979, Jean assumed control of the family's business activities while also giving back generously to the community and to her alma mater. Over the course of four interviews, Starker Roth recalls her upbringing and schooling in Corvallis, her management of the Roth family household, her involvement with a variety of business concerns, and her many philanthropic activities.