Raymond J. Rocha

28 Weddings in 3 Years
Everyone Raymond J. Rocha met, it seemed, became part of his large family, and he was constantly in touch. His girlfriend counted 28 weddings they went to in three years. Even his ex- girlfriends came to his sister's wedding or his annual ski trip, where Mr. Rocha bought everyone walkie-talkies because cellphones would not work on the mountain. A prankster, he would leave rubber snakes in people's beds. At a friend's birthday party, he would wear a silly costume.

But he would also bake a beautiful cake. The youngest of five and a new bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, Mr. Rocha was cooking and balancing bank statements at an early age, in part because his mother, Ann Rocha, was losing her sight. "I loved to go shopping with him because he was very patient with me," she said. "He would read me every ingredient."

It was easy to tell when Mr. Rocha had been around. People would find that someone had marked March 27 on their calendars "Ray Day." Plans were already under way for next Ray Day, when Mr. Rocha would have turned 30.

Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 6, 2001.

Raymond Rocha,

investment broker

By Globe Staff, 10/19/2001

A memorial Mass will be said tomorrow for Raymond J. Rocha of Melrose, a broker with the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald.

Mr. Rocha died Sept. 11 in the terrorist attack on New York City's World Trade Center, where his office was located. He was 29.

Born in Melrose, he graduated from Brown University in 1995.

Before joining Cantor Fitzgerald, he was employed by Dean Witter in Boston.

He leaves two sisters, Pamela A. Ledbury of Saugus and Polly A. O'Brien of Milton; two brothers, Ronald J. of Saugus and Randal of Wakefield, R.I., and his grandmother, Clara (Landano) Rocha of Revere.

The memorial Mass will be said at 11 a.m. in the Church of the Incarnation in Melrose.