Fritz Roth (Undertaker)

Fritz Roth (born August 1, 1949 in Odenthal ; † December 13, 2012 in Essen ) was a German undertaker , grief counselor and author from Bergisch Gladbach . He was the owner of the Pütz-Roth company and, in this function, founder of the first private cemetery in Germany.

Life

After his school days, including with the Steyler missionaries at St. Michaels Gymnasium in Steyl (Netherlands), he toyed with the idea of ​​becoming a Catholic priest , but then studied business administration . He initially worked as a manager in a large energy company. In 1983 he took over the Pütz funeral home in Bergisch Gladbach. This was followed by training as a grief teacher with Jorgos Canacakis . His commitment to a different way of dealing with death and grief in society made him known beyond the Bergisches Land . In 2006 he initiated the art project A suitcase for the last trip .

The focus of his work was the "House of Human Companion" in Bergisch Gladbach. The ensemble on a lightly wooded hill on the city limits is internationally regarded as a model. More like a country hotel than a funeral parlor, it integrates the Private Mourning Academy, the “Villa Trauerbunt” for grieving children, the gardens of the crossings and Germany's first private cemetery.

Since 2010 he has been organizing trips for mourners in cooperation with the tour operator TUI , which are specifically geared towards the needs of grieving people.

With many memberships and engagements, including in the International Work Group of Death, Dying and Bereavement (IWG) and the Association for Death, Education and Counseling (ADEC), he was also active internationally. He was a member of the Association of Catholic Entrepreneurs (BKU) and for many years chairman of the Cologne diocesan group and thus the largest BKU regional group.

In March 2012 Fritz Roth was diagnosed with liver cancer. Roth died on December 13, 2012. On December 29, 2012, an ecumenical memorial service was held in Altenberg Cathedral with great sympathy , attended by around 2500 people. Fritz Roth's remains were laid out there in a red coffin.

Fonts

• (with Sabine Bode ): Mourning has many colors. Ehrenwirth Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 2004, ISBN 3-431-03599-X .
• (with Sabine Bode): Grief is love. What human grief really needs. Gütersloh 2006, ISBN 978-3-579-06814-5 .
• (as editor): Once beyond and back. A suitcase for the last trip. Gütersloh 2006, ISBN 978-3-579-03251-1 .
• (with Georg Schwikart ): Take death personally. Practical suggestions for an individual farewell. Gütersloh 2009, ISBN 978-3-579-06829-9 .
• The last shirt is colorful. The new freedom in the culture of death. Campus Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2011, ISBN 978-3-593-39476-3 .

Awards

• 2009: Badge of honor from the Chamber of Crafts in Cologne

Web links

• Literature by and about Fritz Roth in the catalog of the German National Library
• Film about the work of Fritz Roth
• Website Pütz-Roth Bestattungen und Trauerbegleitung oHG accessed on February 9, 2013
• Interview with Fritz Roth about "Journey into Life" funeral journey

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Silke Offergeld: Interview with Fritz Roth: “Talk about death”. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger . July 3, 2012, accessed January 19, 2017 . 
2. ↑ Matthias Niewels: Farewell: A red coffin for his last way. In: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger . December 29, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2017 . 
3. ↑ Guido Wagner: Funeral service for Fritz Roth: "Leeven Fritz, maach et joot". In: rundschau-online.de. December 30, 2012, accessed January 20, 2017 . 
4. ↑ Anna Jacobi: Undertaker Fritz Roth: Burial in a bright red coffin. In: express.de. January 21, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2017 . 
5. ↑ Fritz Roth: The undertaker and his own funeral - all videos. (No longer available online.) In: handwerk.com. Archived from the original on January 14, 2017 ; accessed on January 20, 2017 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.