William Roth

William “Bill” Madison Roth, 71, passed away August 24th 2025, in Abilene, Texas, under the compassionate care of West Texas Rehab Hospice.

A graveside service will be held September 17th at 10:00 am in Conroe, Texas at McNutt Funeral Home.

Bill was born in Bryan, Texas, on January 11, 1954, to Mary Agnes Golding Roth and Dr. Earl Eugene Roth, Sr. Mary Agnes was a 1941 graduate of Conroe High School. Earl, also known as Cotton, was a 1941 graduate of Klein High School. After serving in the US Marines in World War 2, he graduated as a veterinarian from Texas A & M in 1948.

Bill grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and attended Robert E. Lee High School from 1969 to 1972. He enlisted in the Air Force in 1972, where he was an Electronic Warfare Systems Specialist.

Bill was constantly learning. He also frequently changed careers either to pursue new interests, to help family members, or to adapt to health problems. After his father died in 1973, Bill resigned from the U.S. Air Force, in order to help his mother. Back in Baton Rouge, he worked installing security systems. He became very involved with Christian outreach, and lived in Fort Wayne, Indiana, from 1977 - 78., and in Phoenix, Arizona, from 1981 - 82.

Then, in about 1986, after retraining, he moved to Jackson, Mississippi, where he worked for Kodak as a copy machine repair man for a number of years.

In 1992 he again changed careers in order to help his mother. He moved to Austin, Texas. At that time he became a master welder and worked on oil pipelines and electrical generator plants. Then he started developing major health problems. Between jobs, he trained himself and became a computer geek and he then worked for Dell Computer Company.

After his mother passed away in 1996, Bill again changed careers. He bought land in Round Rock, Texas, to pursue a dream of building his own home. Unfortunately, worsening health problems consumed both his finances and much of his physical strength and stamina.

Bill became a father in 1998, when Ashley was born on May 17th in Austin, Texas. Taking care of her and raising her became his priority. For a while he and Ashley lived in Austin with his brother Michael. Eventually, in 2006 Bill moved to Florence, Texas, where he raised chickens and quail, built incubators, and worked on sailboats. He eventually moved to Abilene, Texas in 2019 to be closer to his daughter.

In his later years Bill became well-known in the online tech community as a master of embedded systems, but he never sought recognition. In fact, Bill actively avoided it. For 13 years he poured his expertise into GCBASIC, the computer software compiler which is used to program the microchips used in many of our everyday electronics. Bill’s contributions were both foundational and transformative. They are also very noteworthy. In fact, his name is etched into the libraries, the examples, and the solutions that the GCBASIC microchip compiler relies on. His work made their tools smarter, their code safer, and their understanding deeper. Some of the other interests Bill pursued were growing medicinal and herbal mushrooms, cooking, and playing guitar.

Bill was a man of many talents, and interests. Any time he would develop an interest in something, he would become an expert. He was also an exceptionally loving man to his family and friends. He passed away holding the hand of his daughter, Ashley.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Mary Agnes Golding Roth and Dr. Earl Eugene Roth, Sr., and his brother Michael Henry Roth.

Bill is survived by his daughter, Ashley Madison Walling, his son-in-law Brandon Christopher Walling (of Abilene, Texas), his brother Dr. Earl Eugene Roth, Jr. (of Phoenix, Arizona), and his niece Callie Theresa Roth (of Austin, Texas).