In Honor of a Good Man - A Tribute to Donald "Rocky" Rockenbach
November 17, 1931 - April 24, 2007
The memorial service for Rocky went well. It was held at the gym where he worked out and competed as a powerlifter. About 80 people or so were there to pay their respects and we all shared a memorable, service that celebrated the life of a good man.
Rocky’s teammates worked hard to clear the heavy equipment to set up chairs. They set things up as if it were a powerlifting competition. Rocky’s record lift of 285 lbs. Were on the bar up front along with some of Rocky’s things; his bag packed for a road trip, two wood blocks he used for leverage when he did the bench press, his shoes, and his weight belt.
The service began with the theme music from the movie Lonesome Dove. As it played his team carried his ashes to the front and placed them very respectfully.
A video was shown that had contributions from Rocky’s family members and it gave some information about Rocky’s life and times.
I have uploaded the video at YouTube. It is 19:35 in length, but the video is in 6 segments. I have placed them here. Scroll down to read the text of the message delivered at Rocky’s service.
After the video I shared the following words:
In Honor of a Good Man
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
Donald “Rocky” Rockenbach was a good man. All of us here know that for different reasons. We were all touched by his life and now we are influenced further by his death. When someone dies what they did for us day to day goes away. We are left with the memories and the pain of that loss. Rocky was a quiet humble man who was content being in the background, but his impact was much more center stage than that. Our hearts tell us that. Our grief tells us that.
We will all die; the question is will we all live? I am not talking about drawing breath. I am talking about appreciating life. Drinking in the wonders that surround us. There are so many treasures around us in nature and in the people we see day to day. Rocky knew that.
He appreciated the outdoors. He loved natural beauty. He enjoyed looking at the sky, noticing subtle changes in plants, and a peacock named Napoleon. Rocky called it a turkey. Rocky knew one of the secrets of happiness; to simply look out his window and see what he could see.
There was a man in the Bible that also appreciated God’s handiwork. His name was David and he wrote many of the Psalms. Psalm 8 in particular describes the beauty of which Rocky was so fond.
O God,
How full of wonder and splendor You are!
I see the reflection of Your beauty
and hear the sounds of Your majesty
wherever I turn.
Even the babbling of babes and the laughter of children
Spell out Your name in indefinable syllables.
When I gaze into the star studded skies
and attempt to comprehend the vast distances,
I contemplate in utter amazement
my Creator’s concern for me.
I am dumbfounded that You
Should care personally about me
And yet You have made me in Your image.
You have called me Your son.
You have ordained me as Your priest
and chosen me to be Your servant.
You have assigned to me the fantastic responsibility
of carrying on Your creative activity.
O God,
How full of wonder and splendor You are!
from the book “Psalms Now” Leslie Brandt
The way Rocky moved through life was with what we call today “old fashioned values.” I wish they weren’t so old fashioned. We can ascertain a man’s values by observing his behavior. Actions speak louder than words.
I don’t think Rocky was ever a Boy Scout, but he would have been a good one. The scout law goes like this; “A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.” Check, that pretty well describes Rocky, but I would have to add strong, persevering, tenacious, hard working, and humorous to that list.
One could count on Rocky. He worked hard his whole life. He never retired. He wasn’t content sitting still; he had to be doing something or fixing something. This was another secret to happiness Rocky knew; the importance of activity. He kept busy. He had projects and when those were completed he had more. If he didn’t have a project, my mother had a list for him. He was the kind of husband that makes the rest of us look bad. He did what his wife told him to do.
Rocky loved a good western. His favorite author was Louis L’Amour. He had many of his books and devoured every one of them. Here are some quotes from Louis L’Amour:
Regarding death he said:
It is the measure of a man to die well. –Last of the Breed
Rocky did that. Though his body was racked with pain and his strength was drained from him he worked to get up and dress everyday. He wanted to live as though it were a normal day. I am told he never complained. So if the measure of a man is to die well, Rocky did that with both strength and dignity.
Louis L’Amour also wrote regarding death:
When I die, remember that what you knew of me is with you always. What is buried is only the shell of what was. Do not regret the shell, but remember the man. Remember the father. –Last of the Breed.
I think Rocky would agree with those words. “Remember the man.”
So Rocky lived; but he also lives. He lives on in our memories and he lives on as we continue to carry out his legacy.
His legacy is in the kind of life he lived. It was in the family from which he came, his parents, his siblings, his children, and all those he adopted along the way. Rocky’s family extends far beyond blood. You know what I am talking about. Chances are that if you are sitting here today you are one of Rocky’s extended brothers or sisters or sons and daughters.
We are his legacy. The way we honor that is to take the torch from his hand and carry it forward. The torch we carry is to live the kind of life he lived. To value honesty and hard work, to appreciate natural beauty and those treasures all around us. To be a good friend, to laugh, to compete and to leave the world a better place.
That is how you honor someone. You carry on what they did. The beauty in this is that if we live like Rocky lived we will learn the secrets he knew. You see happiness is a byproduct of our actions. You can’t acquire happiness by doing any one thing or by getting any one thing. Happiness comes from doing many things and doing them every day. Rocky knew that too.
In Boy Scouts we were taught that you leave a campsite better than you found it. Even if it was dirty when we arrived, we were to leave it clean and with a fresh stack of firewood. Rocky was like that too. He is leaving us in a better condition than when he found us. God has enriched us through him.
Rocky had a big heart, and as the Wizard of Oz told the Tin Man, A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.
Can there be a better legacy?
Here’s to Donald “Rocky” Rockenbach – a good man.
Until the next time
John Strain
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 8:11AM 
