The Roth Sisters’ Final Harvest

Growing up on the family farm in Odessa, Wa, sisters Christina and Marie learned about planting and harvesting. Their parents, Christ P. and Leontina, were strong givers. Their actions influenced their daughters as the family actively gave away portions of their harvest to overseas missionaries. Some time later, after moving to Walla Walla, they inspired members of the local church with their enthusiastic desire to give to those in need. Their church soon became noted for its generous support of missions because of their giving standard.

Christina and Marie both graduated with business degrees from Northwest University (then NBI) in the 1940’s. They remained in Seattle where Marie worked at Aetna Life Insurance Company, and Christina worked at the Port of Embarkation and the Veterans Administration.

After nearly 30 years, Leontina (the sisters’ mother) asked her girls to return home to care for her. She was 76 years old at the time. Her husband had passed on. The sisters retired from their careers in the city and moved back to the farm. They continued the family tradition of giving away a large portion of each harvest to help missionaries serving overseas.

The sisters were conservative spenders. They always seemed to keep in mind that the financial resources they controlled could one day pass on to advance missions and ministry. They were also consistent, adhering to their vision of where their wealth would go and what their legacy would be. At the top of their list, always, was their local church, followed by world missions and their alma mater.

Even when presented with urgent needs and worthwhile projects by missionaries who were long-time friends, the sisters held fast to the legacy they would form – leaving everything they had to “seed”, “plant”, “grow” and “harvest” through local ministry, world missions and preparing young people to carry out life’s call.

They cared for their mother for nearly 30 years, almost as long as they had worked in Seattle. She died in 2002 at the age of 102. The sisters passed away six years later – Marie in 2008, and just 4 months later, Christina in 2009.

The Roth sisters carefully planned their estate through the use of wills and trusts. Each personal estate designed to provide for each other with the remainder transferring to their local church ministry and Northwest University. Their desire to create a legacy of giving for ministry and missions was realized. Well over a million dollars from their estate has been invested in the kingdom of God.

During their lives, Christina and Marie spent their time and their financial resources to advance the kingdom of God around the world. They also planned to ensure that this would happen even after they were gone.

As a result, Northwest University has new financial resources to prepare ministers and missionaries of the future. The Roth sisters planted and planned. They may not have personally seen their largest and final harvest, but they lived each day assured that a day would come when they would significantly help to equip a next generation because of their careful planning and wise stewardship.

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