Brigadier General William Howard Roche Jr.

1935 - 2022

Brigadier General William Howard Roche Jr., of McLean, Virginia, passed away peacefully in his sleep on November 5, 2022. He was born on February 6, 1935, in Vernon, Florida to William Howard Roche and Lillian Varnum Roche. He received his commission as an Armor officer through Army ROTC following graduation from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business in 1958. While at FSU, he was vice-president of his junior and senior class and a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. During his Army career, General Roche served in several overseas locations, including the Federal Republic of Germany, Korea, and the Republic of Vietnam. Command assignments included tank companies at Fort Knox and Germany, a tank battalion with 2nd Infantry Division, a brigade in 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, and Assistant Division Commander of 3rd Armored Division. He also served as an Assistant Professor of Military Science at Florida State University, where he earned a Master of Science degree in Counseling. He served as Military Assistant to the Secretary of the Army for two terms, a Liaison Officer to the US Senate, Chief of the House Liaison Division, and later as Deputy Chief of Legislative Liaison in the Office of the Secretary of the Army. In his final assignment, he served as the Base Commander at the Giessen Army Depot in Germany before retiring after 30 years of service.

General Roche was a man of quiet integrity and a devoted husband. He was a strong believer in the value of hard work and education and he provided the children of several friends and neighbors, as well as his grandchildren, with financial assistance for higher education. He often went fishing with his brothers and in later years loved spending time in the West Virginia countryside, enjoying nature and teaching his grandchildren to fish.

General Roche is survived by his wife, Helen Newman Roche; his younger brother Walter Roche (Jan); his son, Bill Roche (Dongling); his daughter Lisa Roche Boyd (Scott); and grandchildren Austin Boyd, Allie Boyd, Sophia Roche and Alexandra Roche.

A graveside memorial service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at 3 p.m. on June 7, 2024. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, www.alz.org