Gerald Donald “Jerry” Rockman, 83
Gerald Donald “Jerry” Rockman, 83, passed on to be with his beloved family and ancestors on Saturday, June 15, 2013.
He was surrounded by his loving children and under the care of Hospice at Oakridge Assisted Living Center. A Mass of Christian Burial for Gerald will be held at 10:30 AM Saturday, June 22, 2013 at St. Stephen Catholic Church, 1401 Clark Street in Stevens Point. Rev. Jerzy Rebacz will officiate.
A gathering of family and friends will be held on Friday from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at the Shuda Funeral Chapel. There will be no visitation prior to the service on Saturday.
A private burial will be held in July at the Rockman Family Reunion. Online condolences can be sent to www.shudafuneral.com. A memorial in lieu of flowers will be established at a later date. Jerry was born on June 13, 1930 in Mosinee to Donald and Lillian (Kessler) Rockman. He attended Mosinee Grade School, Boulvard School and Mosinee High School, graduating in 1948. Following graduation, he joined the United States Army and completed boot camp in Fort Devens, Mass. He served in the 1st. Cavalry, Division 99, Field Artillery, “C” Battery and was deployed to Korea from 1950-51.
Jerry earned the rank of Sergeant and was honorably discharged on September 12, 1951, receiving the Purple Heart for injuries sustained during the war. Jerry married Joyce Ann Gnirk in Pine City, MN. on August 27, 1951.
They were blessed with a daughter, Debra Jo. Joyce passed away on April 9, 1954. On June 18, 1955, he married Verona (Mona) Daublender at St. Theresa Church in Rothschild, WI. They were blessed with 5 sons and 5 daughters; Lawrence (Mary Lou), Jean (Mark Brillowski), Scott (Lauri), Kay (Dean Lamb), Alan (Mary), Randy, Lynn (Phil DiSalvo) Jim (Vicky), Lori (Garret Glodowski) and Sandy (Brian Sackmann).
After his service in the Army, Jerry worked for Marathon Corp in Rothschild, Wausau Paper Mill in Brokaw and finished his working career at Worzalla Publishing Co. in Stevens Point, retiring in 1993. On February 28, 1991, then Mayor W. Scott Schultz declared the week of March 1-7 “Jerry Rockman Week” for his “contribution of untold hours of service to the city’s youth over the last 25 years.” Jerry was an active participant in Stevens Point Youth Baseball (SPYBA) program for 18 years, serving as coach (18 yrs), umpire (4 yrs), board member (5 yrs), league supervisor (2 yrs), and umpire coordinator (1yr). He also pioneered girls softball by starting the Stevens Point Area Youth Girls Softball Association, serving as coach (5 yrs), board member (5 yrs) and league director (1yr).
Jerry assisted in establishing the Pacelli Girls’ Softball program and served 3 years as their varsity and pitching coach. Jerry was involved in all aspects of the Boy Scouts of America for many years while his sons were growing up. He attended Tesomas Scout Camp in Rhinelander as a boy and loved attending with his sons.
He started the Cub Scout program at McKinley School and continued at St. Joseph’s and St. Stephen’s as Cub Master and later Scout Master. As a JC member, he was part of the team that renumbered all the houses in Stevens Point. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus and the American Legion.
In 1975, Jerry started the Rockman Family Reunion in Mosinee, WI. We are in the 38th year of the reunion and there have been 5 living generations during that time. He has researched the family going back at least another 10 generations to the late 1600’s early 1700’s. Other families included are Isaacson, Mosling, Kessler, Gnirk, and Daublender.
After retirement, Jerry enjoyed golfing, traveling, his baseball-style cap collection, watching his children’s, grandchildren’s and great-grandchildren’s many sports activities and especially researching his genealogy. Jerry will be greatly missed by his 11 children, 27 grandchildren, and 17 great-grandchildren, many extended family members and friends.
He is preceded in death by his parents, his loving wife, Mona, on December 20, 2002, and 2 grand-daughters, Kristen and Callie.
The family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Oakridge for their Friendship and care during his 6 month stay, St. Michaels 5th floor and 2nd Floor doctors and nurses for their care of him while he was a patient, and Hospice for their exceptional care and support during Dad’s final journey.
YES, DAD, IT HAS BEEN A GOOD RUN!!!
