Jerry Anthony Rocco

Mr. Jerry A. Rocco, 98, passed away after a brief illness, on Sunday, December 10, 2023, at the FDR Montrose VA Medical Center's Veterans Nursing Facility. He was blessed with a long and healthy life, for which we are all grateful, but he will be missed terribly by his large, loving family and many friends. His life's journey was similar to many from his time, shaped greatly by world events, namely the Depression and WW II. He was born in a tenement apartment in East Harlem, NY, at the time a neighborhood of recent Italian immigrants. He grew up during the Great Depression, and his parents, recent immigrants themselves, tried to earn a living by running butcher shops, the family trade, in Manhattan, Lodi NJ and then the South Bronx, where he went through his school years. In January 1943 he quit in the middle of senior year of high school to help support the family, and in September upon reaching 18, volunteered for the US Navy. He trained to become a radioman and went to the South Pacific on an LCS-88, a Landing Support Ship, one of the "Mighty Midgets", to assist in the invasion of Okinawa, and the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland. His ship was bombed by a kamikaze plane, and ultimately about one-third of the sailors died from their wounds, including the captain. The ship was disabled and had to be towed back to Pearl Harbor and then San Francisco for reconstruction. They were being prepared to go back for the planned invasion of the Japanese mainland when the US bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Japanese surrendered.
Upon returning to the US, Jerry worked in the family trade as a skilled butcher, during which time he met and married Mary Theresa Byrne of Pelham, NY in 1950, the daughter of Irish immigrants. They resided in Yonkers NY for the next 20 years, where they had 2 sons, Steven & David. Because of his very personable and warm personality, he found success in sales, and began a career that lasted 50 years, primarily related to the food industry. In 1968 they moved to Mt. Vernon, NY and stayed there until the family designed and built their dream house on a mountaintop in Hopewell Junction, NY, beginning in the late 1970s. Both Mary & Jerry loved living on "The Mountain", as we all called it, and entertained friends and family frequently, including Mary's annual St. Patrick's Day party. Both sides of the family remained close, as did their friends of many years from Westchester County, and got together often. Sadly, his wife Mary passed away unexpectedly after a pulmonary embolism in 1993. His very strong faith helped him through that difficult period, and he was blessed to have two loving relationships thereafter, the first with Arlene Primavera, a loving companion who he met through a widow and widowers group at his church, and a second with an old friend of the family, whose husband had passed, Irene Farrisi. Both Arlene and Irene became a part of the family until their passing.
Jerry was a warm, gentle, good-natured person who made friends easily, and kept them, including lifelong friends like John Rizzo, whose friendship went back to the second grade, 90 years ago! They were fortunate to celebrate their 90th birthdays together. He was a devoted husband, an excellent father, a beloved grandfather, a favorite uncle to many, and a second father to several. He was in good spirits right up until having a stroke, a week before his passing. We celebrate his long and healthy life, well-lived, and he will always be with us in our thoughts and many memories.
Jerry is survived by his sons, Steven (AnnMarie) and David (Ruby), as well as seven grandchildren, six great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his mother, Antoinetta, his father, Antonino, his brothers Michael and Eugene, and his sister Nina Borruso.
Calling hours will be held on Monday, December 18, 2023, from 4 to 8 pm, at the McHoul Funeral Home, 895 Route 82, Hopewell Junction. A Mass of Christian Burial will be heldon Tuesday December 19, 2023 at 10 am at the Church of St. Denis, 602 Beekman Road, Hopewell Junction, NY.