St. Olaf College | St. Olaf Alumni

Lillian Krogh Roe ’39

Lillian Krogh Roe - 1939, DeathLillian Krogh Roe, age 97, of Niskayuna, N.Y., passed away on Dec. 31, 2014 in the comfort of her home. She had four great passions in her life: church, music, gardening, and her family. She was born to Lutheran missionaries, Johan Krogh and Ida Enger Krogh in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar. When she was five years old, her father became a minister in Little Falls, Minn., where Lillian played the organ during services. As an adult, she was an active member of Union Presbyterian Church in Schenectady, N.Y. for over 50 years, and became an elder in that church. Lillian graduated with a music major from St. Olaf College, where she sang in the chorus and played piano, viola, and baritone horn. After graduation, she taught music in Sauk Center, Minn., and later, in the Niskayuna and Shenendahowa, N.Y. public schools. She served as president of the Etude Club and sang with the Saratoga-Potsdam Chorus. Of all her musical accomplishments, she was most proud of starting Orff music instruction for elementary students at Shenendehowa schools. She extended her Orff expertise to the Union Presbyterian Church, serving as the founder in 1974 and director of the Orff Consort for 38 years. To join music and faith, she set about each year to create and arrange music that could enhance the church services. At the age of 96, she started an Orff ensemble at First Reformed Church. An enthusiastic and gregarious gardener, Lillian was active for years in the Greenhouse and Indoor Plant Association and the Garden Explorers Club. She became a certified master gardener and has passed along many plants, as well as her love of plants, to family members and many garden friends. Love of her family, both immediate and extended, has been a major theme throughout Lillian’s life. She met her future husband, Glenn Roe ’38, at St. Olaf College, and they married in 1942. They both were proud of their Norwegian heritage and traditions. Reunions with the families of her sisters, Helenor Krogh Larson ’37 and husband Frank and Jeannette Krogh Severtson ’40 and husband Murley Severtson ’41, were so important to her, as were the large reunions of the Roe clan. She was a loving mother to her son, David Roe ’71, and his wife, Carol. She was especially fond of telling her friends all about her granddaughters, Maren Arling and husband Joe and Kerry Schaffer and husband Joe. Survivors include her sister, Jeanette; son, David; granddaughters; and brothers-in-law, Paul Roe ’51 P ’77 ’79 ’82 ’85 ’88 and wife Donna Vibber Roe ’52 P ’77 ’79 ’82 ’85 ’88 and Edward Roe ’52 P ’78 ’83 and wife Charlotte Straub Roe ’54 P ’78 ’83. She was preceded in death by her husband and sister Helenor. A special thanks to the Volans family and to the Community Hospice of Schenectady for their loving and compassionate care. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Opportunity Village in Clear Lake, Iowa.