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Roetheli History

In 1854, a famine raged in Switzerland. The village of Hägendorf, the root village of all Roethelis and which lies in the German speaking portion of Switzerland about 50 miles northwest of Zurich, sponsored the emigration of families to the United States. The family name Roetheli means “little red one” or “son of the red one”.

Village residents helped harvest the forest and the proceeds from the logging paid passage for families willing to move to the United States. Twenty five Roethelis were listed on the manifest of the Roger Steward from Havre, France. They landed in New Orleans on May 25, 1854. The Roethelis then took a steam boat up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Unfortunately, word of mouth suggests that the boat sank on the Missouri River. The Roethelis escaped with just one small box plus the clothes they were wearing. When the Roethelis arrived at their destination in Hermann, Missouri, they walked in on a cholera epidemic. By June 30, five weeks after landing, we can account for only three of the 25 Roethelis still alive–all were under age nine. One of the survivors, 7 year old Anton and his nine year old brother, Franz, were separated. Some years later their off-spring were reunited. However, Anton had not known how to spell his name, so he spelled it Rettle.

In the early 1990s, Joe Roetheli began pursuing genealogy efforts and ultimately made contact with Roethelis in Switzerland–the first known communications between the Swiss and American Roethelis in 138 years. Then in 1995, Joe Roetheli learned of a Swiss endurance runner, Serge Roetheli, attempting to run the Americas-–from the southern tip of Argentina to Fairbanks, Alaska. Through great creativity and persistence, Joe finally was able to connect with Serge while the latter was running in Central America, and the two have become like brothers since then. Serge completed The American Challenge–15,080 miles in 35 months or an average of a marathon every other day for more than 1,000 days–a mere warm-up event for their major event to come! Nicole, Serge’s wife, accompanied him on a motorcycle as they worked to raise awareness of the plight of children in developing countries. After a well deserved break back in Switzerland, Serge and Nicole embarked on their epic run around the world which they called “Run for Kids”. Starting with a send off by friends in Switzerland, they endured to complete this event 25,700 miles and 63 months later on May 7, 2005 back in Saillon, Switzerland. Again, they average a marathon every other day, this time for 1,901 days having drunk over 5.5 tons of Coca-Cola, wearing out 63 pairs of shoes, and 120 pairs of socks! A group of 13 Roethelis/Rettles from American waited at the finish line to greet their relative at the finish line of this unprecedented event one day before his 50th birthday! (Photo of Serge, Nicole, & Joe in CA and photo of Serge & Nicole on The American Challenge)

A documentary film is being produced on Serge’s endurance runs and a wife’s love and devotion to persist while spending 8 years on the road living out of a pup tent to accomplish their dreams. This is a story of hope for anyone. Serge and Nicole have fascinating stories of children they met in jails, orphanages they visited, poverty and snakes they encountered, coupe attempts and malaria that they survived, continuing on with broken bones, running the Sahara Desert and the Darien Gap, surviving running in Alaska in December and in hurricanes, and many more amazing stories providing learning experiences.

Serge was born a fighter, being born over three months premature, in a time when medical technology was not as advanced as it is today. As a teen Serge became a skilled boxer and subsequently earned the right to represent Switzerland in the 1976 Olympics, only to be frustrated when just days before his first Olympic fight the Swiss boxing coach disqualified and the entire Swiss boxing team was forced to forfeit. Later, Serge became an accomplished mountain guide and ski instructor near his hometown of Sion near the Matterhorn, before he turned his attention to serious endurance running. The American Challenge and Run for Kids each had a two-fold purpose: to demonstrate Serge’s endurance running ability and raise awareness for the plight of children in Third World countries–as he thought of the consequences of many infants in developing countries as opposed to his plight as an infant in Switzerland. (Photo of Serge as a boxer)

Serge and Nicole and Joe and Judy Roetheli each have a history of helping to support events to assist the needy in and beyond their homelands. Both Roetheli couples have contributed, in their own ways, International Vision Quest, a charitable entity founded and led by Dr. Ron Zamber and his wife Susan of Fairbanks, Alaska. Dr. Zamber is an eye surgeon by profession. The Zambers take their entire surgical eye care clinic staff to developing countries and assist the needy, especially children, with eye care. One of the many touching stories Dr. Zamber relays is of a woman with four children who came to their “clinic” in Africa. After examining the children and addressing their eye care needs, Dr. Zamber spoke with the mother whom he recognized as being blind. In just a few minutes of visiting with this woman, Dr. Zamber was relatively certain he knew what this ladies problem was and that if his assessment was correct that he could quickly correct it. So, he asked the lady if she would consent to him examining her eyes. She consented. Dr. Zamber’s initial assessment was indeed correct. The woman then gave him permission to perform surgery on her which then required her to wear eye patches for several days. When she returned to have Dr. Zamber remove the patches, this woman who had been blind for decades was able to see her four children for the first time ever! This is just one example of the type of charitable efforts that The Roetheli Lil’ Red Foundation and the Roethelis from both continents have assisted. (Photo of Dr. Zamber examining eyes of child)

Judy and Joe Roetheli are also dog lovers. After working in public service positions for nearly 2 decades, they developed a product to cure their own dog of terrible halitosis. This developed into a company that developed a number of products for the health and welfare of dogs and cats. In less than 10 years their company became the eight largest pet food/treat firm in the world and the company had been honored with more than 50 major awards and honors including a Stevie Award from the American Business Association as the Best Company in America with under 50 employees, a Stevie in product marketing, the Mr. K Award as the best small business in the Kansas City metro area, and the National District Export Council Exporter of the Year. Before selling, the company provided product donations to numerous organizations that care for pets. Examples of the type of organizations supported include: rescue dogs at 9-11 scenes, service and therapy dog organizations including those visiting hospitals and elder care facilities, guide dogs for the blind, police canine units, dog rescue organizations, and organizations housing dogs recovered after hurricanes such as Katrina and Rita. The American Roethelis are currently pursuing programs to elevate the role of pet therapy with the elderly and launching a pilot effort in the Caribbean that combines housing and self help programs while they continue to support the work of Dr. Zamber and International Vision Quest.

Roetheli History

In 1854, a famine raged in Switzerland. The village of Hägendorf, the root village of all Roethelis and which lies in the German speaking portion of Switzerland about 50 miles northwest of Zurich, sponsored the emigration of families to the United States. The family name Roetheli means “little red one” or “son of the red one”.

Village residents helped harvest the forest and the proceeds from the logging paid passage for families willing to move to the United States. Twenty five Roethelis were listed on the manifest of the Roger Steward from Havre, France. They landed in New Orleans on May 25, 1854. The Roethelis then took a steam boat up the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Unfortunately, word of mouth suggests that the boat sank on the Missouri River. The Roethelis escaped with just one small box plus the clothes they were wearing. When the Roethelis arrived at their destination in Hermann, Missouri, they walked in on a cholera epidemic. By June 30, five weeks after landing, we can account for only three of the 25 Roethelis still alive–all were under age nine. One of the survivors, 7 year old Anton and his nine year old brother, Franz, were separated. Some years later their off-spring were reunited. However, Anton had not known how to spell his name, so he spelled it Rettle.

In the early 1990s, Joe Roetheli began pursuing genealogy efforts and ultimately made contact with Roethelis in Switzerland–the first known communications between the Swiss and American Roethelis in 138 years. Then in 1995, Joe Roetheli learned of a Swiss endurance runner, Serge Roetheli, attempting to run the Americas-–from the southern tip of Argentina to Fairbanks, Alaska. Through great creativity and persistence, Joe finally was able to connect with Serge while the latter was running in Central America, and the two have become like brothers since then. Serge completed The American Challenge–15,080 miles in 35 months or an average of a marathon every other day for more than 1,000 days–a mere warm-up event for their major event to come! Nicole, Serge’s wife, accompanied him on a motorcycle as they worked to raise awareness of the plight of children in developing countries. After a well deserved break back in Switzerland, Serge and Nicole embarked on their epic run around the world which they called “Run for Kids”. Starting with a send off by friends in Switzerland, they endured to complete this event 25,700 miles and 63 months later on May 7, 2005 back in Saillon, Switzerland. Again, they average a marathon every other day, this time for 1,901 days having drunk over 5.5 tons of Coca-Cola, wearing out 63 pairs of shoes, and 120 pairs of socks! A group of 13 Roethelis/Rettles from American waited at the finish line to greet their relative at the finish line of this unprecedented event one day before his 50th birthday! (Photo of Serge, Nicole, & Joe in CA and photo of Serge & Nicole on The American Challenge)

A documentary film is being produced on Serge’s endurance runs and a wife’s love and devotion to persist while spending 8 years on the road living out of a pup tent to accomplish their dreams. This is a story of hope for anyone. Serge and Nicole have fascinating stories of children they met in jails, orphanages they visited, poverty and snakes they encountered, coupe attempts and malaria that they survived, continuing on with broken bones, running the Sahara Desert and the Darien Gap, surviving running in Alaska in December and in hurricanes, and many more amazing stories providing learning experiences.

Serge was born a fighter, being born over three months premature, in a time when medical technology was not as advanced as it is today. As a teen Serge became a skilled boxer and subsequently earned the right to represent Switzerland in the 1976 Olympics, only to be frustrated when just days before his first Olympic fight the Swiss boxing coach disqualified and the entire Swiss boxing team was forced to forfeit. Later, Serge became an accomplished mountain guide and ski instructor near his hometown of Sion near the Matterhorn, before he turned his attention to serious endurance running. The American Challenge and Run for Kids each had a two-fold purpose: to demonstrate Serge’s endurance running ability and raise awareness for the plight of children in Third World countries–as he thought of the consequences of many infants in developing countries as opposed to his plight as an infant in Switzerland. (Photo of Serge as a boxer)

Serge and Nicole and Joe and Judy Roetheli each have a history of helping to support events to assist the needy in and beyond their homelands. Both Roetheli couples have contributed, in their own ways, International Vision Quest, a charitable entity founded and led by Dr. Ron Zamber and his wife Susan of Fairbanks, Alaska. Dr. Zamber is an eye surgeon by profession. The Zambers take their entire surgical eye care clinic staff to developing countries and assist the needy, especially children, with eye care. One of the many touching stories Dr. Zamber relays is of a woman with four children who came to their “clinic” in Africa. After examining the children and addressing their eye care needs, Dr. Zamber spoke with the mother whom he recognized as being blind. In just a few minutes of visiting with this woman, Dr. Zamber was relatively certain he knew what this ladies problem was and that if his assessment was correct that he could quickly correct it. So, he asked the lady if she would consent to him examining her eyes. She consented. Dr. Zamber’s initial assessment was indeed correct. The woman then gave him permission to perform surgery on her which then required her to wear eye patches for several days. When she returned to have Dr. Zamber remove the patches, this woman who had been blind for decades was able to see her four children for the first time ever! This is just one example of the type of charitable efforts that The Roetheli Lil’ Red Foundation and the Roethelis from both continents have assisted. (Photo of Dr. Zamber examining eyes of child)

Judy and Joe Roetheli are also dog lovers. After working in public service positions for nearly 2 decades, they developed a product to cure their own dog of terrible halitosis. This developed into a company that developed a number of products for the health and welfare of dogs and cats. In less than 10 years their company became the eight largest pet food/treat firm in the world and the company had been honored with more than 50 major awards and honors including a Stevie Award from the American Business Association as the Best Company in America with under 50 employees, a Stevie in product marketing, the Mr. K Award as the best small business in the Kansas City metro area, and the National District Export Council Exporter of the Year. Before selling, the company provided product donations to numerous organizations that care for pets. Examples of the type of organizations supported include: rescue dogs at 9-11 scenes, service and therapy dog organizations including those visiting hospitals and elder care facilities, guide dogs for the blind, police canine units, dog rescue organizations, and organizations housing dogs recovered after hurricanes such as Katrina and Rita. The American Roethelis are currently pursuing programs to elevate the role of pet therapy with the elderly and launching a pilot effort in the Caribbean that combines housing and self help programs while they continue to support the work of Dr. Zamber and International Vision Quest.