Mr. Phillip James Rocha

July 16, 1955 - March 13, 2017

Phillip James Rocha 07-16-1955 to 03-13-2017 Phillip James Rocha passed away due to a heart attack while on an Amtrak train headed for Chicago. Phillip and his wife of 36 years, Janice, had just started celebrating their retirement. Phillip was born in Long Beach, California. From an early age, Phillip was a “handful” for his parents and grew to be an accomplished adult. During his younger years, Phillip spent many hours with the drum and bugle corps traveling through the U.S. with his siblings. During that time in 1974, he had the honor to meet President Gerald Ford while marching with the Royal Commodores of Stockton at the Drum Corps International. Phillip graduated from Mt. Eden High School in Hayward, CA in 1973. In 1980, Phillip met and quickly married the love of his life, Janice, as a member of the St. Leander’s Singles Club. As a couple, they have developed life-long friends to this day. Phillip and Janice were blessed with three amazing sons - Victor, Justin and Erik. As a family man, Phillip was passionate about many things. He spent many weekends at Disneyland, truly the “happiest place on earth”. He was proud that he was born one day before the Disneyland opening and proceeded to visit Disney at all the milestone birthdays with his family. Phillip, Janice and their sons were snow skiing in the winters and camping at National Parks in the summers in their travel trailer. They also became avid Giants fans and enjoyed being together and attending games at AT&T Park. Phillip was active with the Boys Scouts of America as an adult leader. While serving as a respected leader, he achieved his Wood Badge. During his working years, Phillip took pride in his work as a Sales Representative for Arrow Industries. He was ambitious and very well respected in the plumbing industry. Due to his heart health issues, Phillip stopped working in 2002. His disabilities never stopped him from doing what he wanted to do. Phillip was passionate about the environment and volunteered at the Yosemite National Parks and California Academy of Sciences. In Phillip’s words, he was a “tree hugging, dirt worshiper.” Phillip is survived by his wife Janice Seeterlin Rocha; son, Victor Rocha (Jennifer); granddaughters, Stella and LilyAnn; son, Justin Rocha (Elizabeth); grandchildren, Madisen and Hayden; son, Erik Rocha (Kathleen Dobrowolski); brother, Daniel Rocha; sister, Victoria Rocha (Nancy Rifkin); sister-in-law, Deborah Rocha. Phillip is predeceased by his mother, Lucille Rocha; father, Victor Rocha; brother, Mark Rocha. Phillip was laid to rest at the Rockville Cemetery in Fairfield, California. In lieu of flowers, we would appreciate your contribution to the National Parks Conservation Association: https://l.messenger.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsecure.npca.org%2Fsite%2FDonation2%3Fdf_id%3D1420%261420.donation%3Dform1%26s_src%3DALGXXXX00WSC%26_ga%3D1.29636666.421181739.1489789518%23sm.0001gw0fdn1062eayvb1bj6te97r5&h=ATMDYLu2rooY_8gvgKjRoVTGLBtxYE-MEf0hgvv66bDClbBGn0yhu3-6hxw1w1Gm9O0pUaYE20AZWmvpuGcJ_bXe2YnNiUcBObkjxuMS8XQZoRgdlhA3cjbTioYTdNqG3443n-6Adu8T2w