Obituary
Thomas Jan Roth, 76, beloved husband, father, grandfather, artist, and friend to many, passed away peacefully on March 16th.
Tom’s enthusiastic and compassionate approach to life will live on in my memories and in those of his daughters, Kajsa and Sydney, his loving son-in-law, Magnus, and two grandsons, Philip and Noah who loved their morfar and whom he adored, and by my children, Jim and Susan and their families who embraced his presence as part of our family. He will be missed by his lifelong dear Kumla Boys. Tom cherished his memories of the time he shared with Philip and Noah. He rejoiced in the small moments with each as they discovered the world. His journey began in 1947 in Linköping, Sweden. He spent his childhood in Kumla, Sweden with his mother, Gabriella, who had been in the camps in Germany. Tom was born an artist and over time he looked at most everything with an artist’s eye — and an energetic grasp of both craft and emotion.
Tom attended Beckman’s College of Design in Stockholm where he was trained in advertising. He started his first job in 1970 as a full partner and Art Director for a firm that eventually moved to the US in 1982. Tom’s ability to make ads that both worked and encouraged people to feel resulted in recognition far and wide in the industry with over 300 industry awards while with companies like BBDO and Anderson & Lembke. Tom’s work endeared him to many clients including Volvo, Husqvarna, Microsoft, Visa, Schwab, Dell, and IBM. While working in advertising, Tom never lost his desire and fascination for finding new ways to artistically express what he saw in the world. In much of his work there is both deep feeling and wry humor. That humor was almost always punctuated by a very large, perhaps larger-than-life, laugh. I think perhaps Tom’s joy travels along with his Art as it has been shown at the Museum of National Art in Sweden, and in numerous prominent galleries in Chelsea, Soho, Santa Fe, Santa Monica, and Naples.
Tom managed to see quite a bit of the world and lived in Marin County, Soho, Stamford, Boston, Marblehead, Brooklyn, Hudson, and of course, Sweden. In all these places and more, many folks met Tom and soon loved him for his kindness, good humor, and especially his spirit and joyful creativity. Tom was a kind-hearted, optimistic, heart-centered and creative human.
I am so grateful to have shared the last ten years with him. He was my love, my lover, my partner, my friend, my confidant, my muse, and everything I’d ever hoped for as my husband. I will miss him dearly. I loved and respected this man and felt his love and respect as constants in every moment. I am so grateful for the love we’ve known and for the friendship we shared.
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