Church Not the Same After Slaying of Member

The woman who wore gold hoop earrings, rings on each finger and an ever-present smile was missing from church Sunday.

Someone else had taken Betty Jean Rothchild’s usual seat in the third row at the tiny Heavenly Rest Missionary Baptist Church, but thoughts of her were on most people’s minds.

Rothchild, 57, was shot to death last week as she got into her van on East 99th Street near South Los Angeles. She was on her way to buy groceries for a church fish fry.

The shots, which originated about 500 feet from Rothchild, also critically wounded a man who was not identified, authorities said.

Rothchild had been with the church for more than 25 years and remained a dedicated member when it moved from Los Angeles to Compton.

She reupholstered the pews with blue fabric when they grew ragged. She used her computer to print church publications. And for church events she was the head cook, known for her collard greens and prime rib.

Rothchild’s generosity would extend beyond the walls of church when she and a group of fellow churchwomen would cook and carry the food to the homeless on skid row.

“She never met a stranger,” church member Dorothy Rhone said. “She’s one of a kind.”

If people were hungry, she would feed them. If they needed a place to stay, she would give them a bed. If they were taking drugs, she would try to help them beat the habit. If they were gang members, she would try to change their lives.

“She was a rehabilitator,” said her son, Marvin. “There are people who call me their ‘godbrother’ because my mother brought them in.”

Pastor Otis C. Saffold tried to make sense of the slaying for his congregation. “Our hearts are heavy this morning, but we rejoice anyway because she was a child of God,” he said from the pulpit. “God doesn’t make mistakes.

“I even pray for the one who shot the gun.”

Rothchild, a retired nurse, had three sons and 13 grandchildren.

Marvin Rothchild, 37, a heavy - machinery operator, visited his mother every day after work.

If he didn’t show up, his mother would call and ask what had happened.

He had just pulled up behind his mother’s van when he heard the shots. He got out of his car and looked inside the van.

“I didn’t even know she was shot,” he said. “Then I looked inside the car and I didn’t see her moving. She was lifeless.”

He thinks his mother was caught in gang cross-fire. There have been no arrests.

Marvin Rothchild was baptized at Heavenly Rest. He and his wife were married there. But in recent years, they had drifted away from the church.

At Sunday’s service, the tearful son stood in front of the pulpit with his wife and two teenage daughters and pledged to rejoin Heavenly Baptist.

“I talked to the minister the other day,” he told the 40 people in the congregation. “He said my mother was a cornerstone of the church. I’m going to be a cornerstone of this church.”