ALVIN HARRIS ROTH's Obituary
ROTH, Alvin Harris age 81 of Boynton Beach passed away on May 17th. Beloved husband of Lynn Kobrin Roth; Loving father of Gregg (Megan) Roth and Rebecca Miller; Cherished grandfather of Matthew Miller and Luke Miller; Dear brother of Iris Acker.
Al was born in the Bronx, N.Y. on November 27, 1936. Due to the death of his father when he was an infant, Al became the “man of the house” at a young age, and when most of his friends and classmates went off to college or into the service, Al stayed home to work and support his mother, Eva. As a young man, Al fell in love with boxing, eventually fighting in the Golden Gloves. Boxing would maintain a presence in his life until his last days. His sister Iris, an actress, would introduce him to another love in his life, acting and the theater.
He got married and had three children, Marc, Rebecca and Gregg. Al relished his role as father and exposed his children to the theater, music, movies, sports, travel, laughter, all forms of fun, and enjoyment of life. Always looking to entertain his children, Al would present them with spontaneous fishing trips, long drives to Coney Island for the sole purpose of getting a hot dog and French fries at Nathans, drive-in movies, and walks to Carvel in a hurricane. He would become a grandfather twice, when Matthew was born in 1995 and Luke in 1998. Sadly, he would lose Marc to AIDS in 2003, a loss that impacted him profoundly for the rest of his life.
However, also in 2003, at the age of 66, he found himself back inside the boxing ring after being introduced to “white collar boxing” at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, New York. For his remaining years, Gleason’s Gym, the boxers, boxing managers and promoters he would meet there would become a second family to him.
While living in New York, he attended a high school reunion in Florida and reconnected with Lynn Kobrin, a friend during middle school and high school, but someone he had not seen in 50 years. Their long distance relationship would become short distance as Al began to spend more and more time in Florida with Lynn, leading to their marriage in January 2018. An incredibly healthy and fit man who never smoked, his diagnosis of lung cancer stunned Al, but did not defeat him. As with every other aspect of his life, Al vowed to fight, and did so successfully for months. Lynn, Rebecca, Gregg and Gregg’s wife Megan spent Al’s last day with him. None of them were surprised when, shortly before he passed away, Al raised his hands toward his face, the way all boxers do when refusing to give in.
Father, husband, grandfather, brother, friend, boxer, actor, salesman, comic, Good Samaritan, singer, story-teller, joker, confidante, and the most kindhearted man one will ever meet. Al will be missed by all.
For the gift of life, trees for Israel, donations may be made to the Jewish National Fund.
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