Erika Roof

Erika Edith Roof, formerly of Stevensville, MD, died on Thursday, April 27, 2023, at Charlestown Senior Living in Catonsville, MD, at the age of 89. Born in New York City, Mrs. Roof was raised and educated in New Jersey. After graduating from Leonia High School, she attended and graduated from Douglass College, Rutgers University with a BA degree in Zoology-Bacteriology in 1956. She was always a voracious lover of classical music and enjoyed singing in various choirs in school and church. She also studied piano and violin. Prior to her marriage to James B. Roof in December of that year, she was employed by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals where she worked on antibiotic research. When the Roofs moved to Lansing, MI, she worked in clinical microbiology at the Michigan Department of Health. Her third position, back in Alexandria, VA, was also in clinical microbiology at Alexandria Hospital. Mrs. Roof and family lived first in Falls Church and then in Springfield, VA, for twenty-six (26) years. Her three sons were born and raised there. She served as a Cub Scout leader and as Chairman of the Board of Christian Education at the Little River United Church of Christ. For at least 30 years, sailing with family and friends was a favorite activity. During these years, her husband was assigned a two-year job in Asuncion, Paraguay, South America and the family moved with him. They traveled extensively to Panama, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile. Mrs. Roof served the Union Church in Asuncion in programming Sunday Services for English Speaking Protestants under the auspices of the Disciples of Christ. She also served as President of the Canadian-Mennonite School. In 1982, the Roofs built their retirement home on Kent Island in Stevensville on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Mrs. Roof was a member of a neighborhood Bible study group. She was also a member and later a Gallery Director of the Kent Island Federation of Art, Inc. from 1990 to 1995. She volunteered in several capacities at Christ Episcopal Church in Stevensville. Baptized in the German Lutheran Church, Mrs. Roof was raised and married as a Presbyterian with a brief association with Disciples of Christ and a 13-year membership in the United Church of Christ before being confirmed as an Episcopalian. Nine years after the untimely death of her husband James, Mrs. Roof moved to the Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville in 2007. Her activities included organizing and leading opera lovers like herself to the Metropolitan Opera telecast in the Baltimore area. She is survived by her sons, Thomas Erik, James Raymond, Peter Bergen; five grandsons, Patrick Thomas, Brendan James, Colin Michael, Mathew Thomas and Jonathan Erik; brother, Thomas H. Otto; one nephew, Steven Alexander Otto; two nieces, Karin Lynn Otto and Lindsay Jean Otto Connelly; and many beloved in-laws and their families, including two cousins in Germany. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to one of the following organizations: The Kent Island Federation for the Arts at http://www.kifa.us/ways-to-give-1.html, WBJC at https://www.wbjc.com/, The Macular Degeneration Association at https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/macularhope, or Christ Church Parish, Kent Island at http://www.ccpki.org/give/. A funeral service will be held at 1 pm on Saturday, July 8 at Christ Episcopal Church, 830 Romancoke Road, Stevensville, MD 21666. Interment will follow the service at Broad Creek Cemetery, Stevensville, MD.

Erika Roof

March 28, 1934 - April 27, 2023