Rocco J. Sgobbo passed away peacefully at his home in The Villages with his wife Alexandria and family by his side on 8 July 2017. Throughout his 87 years, Rocco possessed an optimism and positive energy that was contagious and could brighten any room he walked into. He valued service to his country, community, church and above all family.
Rocco was born in Harrison, New York on 14 December 1929 the first of three children to immigrant parents at the onset of the Great Depression. He attended White Plains High School where he excelled at sports, volunteering for the United States Navy upon graduation. His four-year enlistment took him to Korea during the Korean War and introduced him to the field of aviation. Following his discharge from the Navy, he attended the Academy of Aeronautics in New York, NY and embarked on a career in the Aerospace industry that would include working on the Apollo program that put the first men on the moon.
His community service included roles as Commander in the American Legion, President of the Lions Club, President of the Holy Name Society, Chairman of the United Way Drive and Financial Secretary of the Knights of Columbus. Rocco was an active member of St. Timothy Catholic Church and an Oblate at St. Leo’s Monastery. His Church activities, spanned eight decades and this lifetime of dedication to the communities he was a member of earned him a Papal Award as a Knight of St. Gregory the Great in 2008.
Above all, Rocco was a family man who was completely devoted to his wife and 6 children. Even before his own children were old enough to play sports, Rocco coached Little League. When the town he lived in did not have ice hockey for girls and his daughters showed interest and aptitude, he co-founded a girls’ team that yielded a number of players who went on to win athletic scholarships to college.
Rocco is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Alexandria and his six children, Patricia, Catherine, Barbara, Alexis, Rocco and Andrea as well as his ten grandchildren – all of whom admired and adored him.
A visitation will be held at the Lady Lake Chapel of Beyers Funeral Home on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 from 4 to 6 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Timothy Catholic Church in Lady Lake on Thursday, July 13, 2017 at 10 a.m.
Memorial Donations: In lieu of flowers, please donate to The Villages Hospice House, 601 Casa Bella, The Villages, FL 32162.
