ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 3, 1997 TAG: 9701030068
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
One of the first women in the New River Valley to offer years of service to the Boy Scouts of America died Tuesday. Martha Ann Roane was 75.
Ben Crawford, district chairman of the Blue Ridge Mountains Council, said Roane's volunteer service spanned decades.
"When I returned to this area in 1978, she had already been involved for years before that," Crawford said.
Roane, a Blacksburg resident, was still active until about six months ago when illness kept her from the work she loved.
"She was an extraordinary person in terms of her dedication," Crawford said.
The former Girl Scout troop leader was a committee member of Boy Scout Troop 44, which was sponsored by the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church where she was a member.
Her work earned her the Silver Beaver Award, which is the highest award a volunteer can earn from the local scouting council. The award recognizes outstanding volunteer work in the troop and the community.
Crawford said when he was president of the council from 1989 to 1991 it was a difficult period for the council that was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. He said Roane never gave up on the program during the toughest of times.
"She was one of the people who was staunchly supportive," Crawford said. "She not only gave her time, skills and energy, she also gave monetarily."
Now, Crawford said, the Blue Ridge council is one of the most financially stable councils in the state.
Arthur Walrath, assistant scout master for Troop 44, said Roane was one of the first women involved in cub scouting in the area.
"After her son got an Eagle [Scout] award she became very active," Walrath said. "One of her main accomplishments was getting other people interested in scouting."
Besides her work with Troop 44 as a committee member, Roane served as advancement chairman of the Monetan District and the Blue Ridge Mountains Council, was a Wood Badge instructor who taught leadership and outdoor skills to other troop leaders and was a member of the Order of the Arrow, a scouting honor society.
Roane also worked with young adults on the Virginia Tech campus as an adviser for Alpha Phi Omega. The scouting fraternity has both men and women in its 100-plus membership.
Crawford said one of the last things he remembers Roane doing with APO was holding a social last year at her home for more than 60 members. It was the same year that the organization was named the No. 1 service organization on the Tech campus. Crawford said the ranking was especially significant because more than 400 groups competed for the honor.
Sue Tolin, a professor in Tech's plant pathology, physiology and weed science department, remembered Roane's professional career as one of dedication, too.
She said Roane served as an adjunct professor in the department doing research on fungi, chestnut blight and rhododendron. Tolin said Roane co-authored a compendium on rhododendron diseases that is one of the best selling in the field.
Roane was never an employee at Tech, but she earned her doctoral degree in mycology - the study of fungi - from the university's biology department.
"She really was quite a person," Tolin said.
Roane's funeral is set for 2 p.m. today at the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church.
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