Necrology
Richard George Rockwell '57
Oct. 29, 1935-Feb. 28, 2020
Richard George Rockwell ’57 died in Lexington, Mass., on Feb. 28, 2020. Born in Pittsburgh on Oct. 29, 1935, he was raised in the suburb of Aspinwall and came to Hamilton from Aspinwall High School. On the Hill, he majored in English literature, was a guide for prospective students both as a freshman and as a sophomore, and was active in supporting the Campus Fund as a sophomore and a senior. As a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, he was house manager as a junior and president as a senior, also serving as secretary/treasurer of the Interfraternity Council during his final year.
From Hamilton, Dick proceeded to Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons but ended his medical studies in the spring semester of 1958. He would then devote several months to helping construct a ski lodge at Mt. Snow in Vermont. Thereafter, he relocated to Philadelphia and worked for the N.W. Ayer Advertising Agency. It was there that he met Jane B. Foster, whom he married in August 1960, in her hometown of Flourtown, Pa. They had three daughters.
Also in 1960, the Rockwells moved to Concord, Mass., and he began working for the Container Corp. of America in nearby Medford. In 1963, he became a sales trainee for CCA. During his time with the company, Dick revealed a knack for troubleshooting equipment and discovering ways to adapt machinery to produce new forms of packaging. By 1966, he relocated to Morristown, N.J., to work for R.A. Jones & Co., also a manufacturer of packaging products.
By 1974, the family had returned to Massachusetts. Dick became sales manager for Deck House, a home design company in Acton. The next year, they moved yet again, this time back to Dick’s hometown of Pittsburgh, residing there for 12 years while he ran Logos Bookstore with Jane. In 1985, the Rockwells returned to the Bay State to take up residence in Boxborough. For a time, he worked as a salesman for Broomfield Laboratories. Boxborough would be their home until Dick died.
Throughout his life, Dick was an avid fly fisherman, both in Pennsylvania and in northern Maine, where he was often accompanied by his grandson, Luke. He was also a cross-country and downhill skier. His passion for the outdoors was matched by his love of music, reading (appropriate for a bookseller), world history, and discussions about politics and culture.
Dick volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and was active in his church, Hancock United Church of Christ in Lexington, Mass., and with Place of Promise, a residence for homeless men in Lowell, Mass., where he taught Bible studies and otherwise supported the residents.
Not surprising for an English literature major, Dick recalled in his 40th reunion yearbook that Professors Thomas Johnston and “Bobo” Rudd had a major influence upon him, as they “introduced this left-brained, linear-thinking engineer’s son to the marvelous world of literature.” Also memorable was this encounter: “Dean Tolles (one shirt-tail out) strolling into my room in Carnegie one spring afternoon when I was venting my anger by bouncing a tennis ball very loudly off of the wall, nodding at me, and leaving without saying a word. The presence of that man!”
Richard G. Rockwell is survived by his wife, three daughters, and his finest fly-fishing companion, his grandson.
