A funeral mass was celebrated June 26 at St. Ann’s R.C. Church in Hoboken, for Dr. John G. Rocco, M.D., 82. He passed away June 23 at the Monmouth Care Center in Long Branch. Born in Hoboken, Dr. Rocco was currently a resident of Hoboken and Avon by the Sea. A graduate of A.J. Demarest High School, Seton Hall University and the University of Bologna, Italy. John was the physician for Maxwell House Coffee Co., the Bethlehem Steel Co., as well as the Levolor Corp. He was most proud of his position as the school physician at Stevens Institute of Technology, as well as staff physician at St. Mary’s Hospital in Hoboken, now known as Hoboken University Medical Center.
Dr. Rocco also maintained a private family practice on Garden Street in Hoboken for many years.
Prior to becoming a physician, he worked for the Hilton Corporation in NYC as a banquet manager. He also enjoyed being an artist in his leisure time. He was predeceased by his parents Jennie and Vincenzo Rocco; two brothers, Ben and Ralph; four sisters Helen, Rose, Nettie and Millie, and a nephew Joseph DePaulis. He will be missed by Linda Stevens, Kelly Ann Stevens and her children Kelsey and John, who lovingly referred to him as their ‘Poppy’. Also surviving is a sister in law Rita Rocco and his nieces and nephews, Gina, Johanna, Joyce, Celeste, Jerry, and Frank. Dr. John was a lifetime parishioner of St. Ann’s R.C. Church in Hoboken and a daily communicant there and at St. Elizabeth of Hungary R.C. Church in Avon. Services arranged by the Failla Memorial Home, Hoboken.