Joseph “Joey” Caleb Roth stuck his leg in the washing machine to amuse his sister and her friend.
“One more spin cycle,” he said. “I’m taking a bath.”
He was always amusing, kind and generous.
“If someone needed money, he would give it to them,” Mary Roth said. “He wouldn’t let people give it back.”
Her brother, 18, died Sept. 14 of an accidental prescription drug overdose, according to his family.
His mother, Anna Marie Roth, said her son was fighting depression, anxiety and bad reactions to medications.
“Maybe we can stop others from the dangers of prescription drugs,” she said. “The loss of his life meant that others lived.”
She was with her son when he got his driver’s license and indicated he was willing to donate organs.
One of his lungs went to a 52-year-old man in Oregon with two kids.
His right kidney went to Wisconsin.
His left kidney stayed in Washington.
His pancreas was donated, surgically implanted, and worked immediately.
Corneas went to Florida and California.
A heart valve beats in Washington.
His brain and heart will be shown at schools to teach students about the human body.
The family credits LifeCenter Northwest for help with the donations.
Roth was born May 25, 1990, in Seattle. He graduated from Everett High School and worked for ORCA Land Surveying, QFC and Gianni’s Restaurant. He aimed to go to Edmonds Community College.
Joey is survived by his mommy, Anna Marie Roth; father Danny R. Roth; brothers Daniel Dean, Jesse Lee and Joshua Ralph Charles; brother-in-law Rodney Lee IV; sisters Amanda Louise Carmelita, Mary Kate and Abbagail Rose Ellen; sister-in-law Holly Heather; niece Laela-Marie; and nephews Zackary John, Deacon Joseph, Rodney Lee V and Shamus Edward.
Joey Roth loved the outdoors, camping, hiking, Lucky Charms cereal, lifting weights, Lil Wayne, the film “Blazing Saddles,” his cat Goku, skateboarding and pole vaulting. His family called him a daredevil, since his early days of flying off the roof on a mattress.
“He was an adrenaline junky,” his mother said. “He had a passion for life.”
For someone so outgoing, he was very particular about how his hair looked.
His brother, Josh, said he spent hours putting gel in his hair to make it perfect and preferred brand-name clothing he bought for himself.
As a family prank, each year Joey Roth’s birthday had a theme — Barbie, or My Little Pony.
Amando Roth has been told she looks just like her brother, she said.
“That truly meant a lot to me,” she said. “The last time I spent time with my brother was when I had to go for a checkup after surgery. I was finding out if I needed to go back into the hospital due to my pain. He stayed the whole time with me, taking care of me.”
His brother was loved and cared for, Daniel Roth said, by many more people than he even realized. More than 200 friends attended his vigil.
In a dream, his niece, 3-year-old Laela-Marie, saw her Uncle Joey after he died.
“He lives in the sky,” Laela-Marie said. “The sky is beautiful.”
Roth’s biological father, David Dewey of Kenia, Alaska, wrote in an e-mail that “Caleb” in his son’s name means war dog, a fighter.
“As I prepare to go on deployment with the Alaska Army National Guard, I am talking to all the dads and moms who are deploying with us and trying to get the message across that they need to take a moment every day and tell their children how much they love them,” Dewey said. “Who knows what tomorrow will bring?”
Reporter Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
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