Alan Lewis ROECKS

1947 - 2017

ROECKS,
Alan Lewis

Service-oriented, adven- turous, and creative. These are a few of the words that describe the rich life of Alan L. Roecks in his 70 years of life. Alan passed away on July 6, 2017. He was born February 15, 1947 in Spokane, Washington to Bettie and Albert Roecks. Alan grew up on a wheat farm in Rock Creek Valley where he spent his summers helping his family on the farm. While attending Liberty High School in Spangle, WA, Alan was an active participant on both the basketball and football teams.
In 1965, Alan graduated as salutatorian from Liberty H.S., but that was only the beginning of his extensive educational resume. He went on to double major at Washington State University, earning a B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in Mathematics. He then went on to attend Gonzaga University where he earned an M.A. in Counseling Psychology. Finally, he went on to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where Alan earned his Ph. D. Alan also obtained a master's degree in Strategic Studies from the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
While attending the University of Wisconsin, Alan met his best friend and life partner, Jane Kvitle, and they married in June of 1976. Upon completion of his graduate studies, Alan moved to San Antonio, Texas, where he worked as a Department of Defense civilian with the Air Force. In 1990, Alan joined the U.S. Department of State, and moved to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo as his first assignment. In 1992, Alan was then posted to the U.S Embassy in New Delhi, India.
While in India, one of the most influential moments of Alan's life occurred. During a trip to Calcutta, Alan had a private audience with St. Teresa of Calcutta. Before leaving India, Alan and Jane completed their family, and adopted a son Adam, and a daughter Jasmyn, from Mother Teresa's orphanage in New Delhi.
Service to others was a major tenet of Alan's life. He was a networker who organized charitable activities to make the world a better place. In 2012, Alan retired from the foreign service, and he went on to found the Roecks-Kvitle Foundation. Through the foundation, Alan started the Inland NW Bladder Cancer/Urostomy support group, to help others. He also enjoyed volunteering his time at the American Cancer Society counseling others battling cancer. The foundation also supported a tennis player from Ethiopia who went on to pursue his education in the United States.
Alan is preceded in death by his father Albert, his brother Marc, and his nephew Chad. He is survived by his wife Jane, son Adam, daughter Jasmyn, mother Bettie, sister Gayle (Jeff Hanna), brother Eric (Lu-Ann Branch), his nephews Marc Jr., Brandon, Andrew and Nicholas, and his nieces Nina, Becky and Danielle. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Liberty Humanitarian Scholarship or The American Cancer Society.
There will be a memorial service, Saturday August 12, 2017 at 1:30 PM at Hazen & Jaeger Valley Funeral Home, 1306 N. Pines Rd., Spokane Valley, WA 99206 with reception to follow at funeral home.