John (Jack) Rocco Jr. , 70, of Mapleview, passed away surrounded by his loving wife, two sons, and daughter-in-law in the early morning of August 11, 2024. He fought courageously armed with great faith against pancreatic cancer.

Jack should be memorialized in this order:

Faith, Family and Friends, Food, Music, and Sports

Faith

Jack was a member of St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church in Belle Vernon, PA.

He was devoted to his Church, Catholic Faith and love of the Church teachings. His love of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his devotion to our Blessed Mother was the true meaning of his existence.

Family and Friends

Jack was born on July 27, 1954 in the Monongahela Memorial Hospital in New Eagle and is the son of Jack Rocco, Sr. of New Eagle and the late Mary Ann Freycenet Rocco.

Jack ran a successful florist business with his parents in Monongahela for 38 years, a business that was over 100 years old and inherited from his Grandfather Rocco.

He spent many years working beside his parents. The memories of "the shop" are too many to list but all who passed through undoubtedly can think of the characters, tall tales, and endless pots of coffee as they read this.

The stories will be passed down throughout the generations.

He is survived by his wife, also Mary Ann Rocco (Pennline) of Mapleview.

Jack and Mary Ann were married in the Fall of 1977. Married for 46 years, their love for each other will transcend his death. Their teamwork and progressive marriage worked like no other.

They met during a school production of The Crucible at Charleroi High School and their love of acting and theater would remain throughout their lives.

Jack is survived by his son Derek Rocco of Peters Township and son Chris Rocco of South Park. In addition he is survived by his daughter in-law, Mary Rae Rocco (Derek's wife), who he absolutely adored. He was so thankful for his relationship with Mary Rae's parents, Bill and Julia Walton of Waynesburg, PA, who weren't just in-laws, but his friends.

He desperately loved his grandchildren;

Samuel, who shares his critical thinking and love of debate.

Violet, his "Sicilian princess", who has his competitive and fiery-nature.

Vincent, who has his toughness and thoughtfulness.

Maxwell, whose middle name is John in honor of his grandfather, not only shares that but also his grandfather's flare for reckless abandon.

Jack was the older brother of Dr. Bart Rocco and brother-in-law to Val Rocco of Canonsburg. Bart and Jack had a true brotherhood and there was never an occasion where a good movie impression wasn't used between the two. Bart and Val were there with Jack to the very end.

Jack was also the loving older brother to Karen Rocco (Tom) of Guam and Maria Rocco of Holiday, Florida.

He loved his sisters.

He was so thankful for the numerous trips and adventures Karen took him on and how an expensive bottle of Olive Oil or huge piece of Parmesan Reggiano would always show up at just the right time.

Maria could make him laugh like no other and he cherished their relationship till the day he died. Their ability to prank each other resulted in many, many laughs.

He loved his wife's brother and sister and their spouses, Kathy and Ron Arnoldi of Montgomery, Texas and Robert and Diane Pennline of Mount Pleasant, PA.

He would want all his nieces and nephews to know that he loved them and was proud of all of them.

He was the nephew of Darlene and Joe Harsh and cousin to Dennis (Beth) Harsh and Brett (Char) Harsh. He was blessed to have numerous other cousins in his life.

From his business, many of his loyal customers became friends.

He also cherished his loyal friends and neighbors in Mapleview that were like family.

In addition, Mitch and Louann Nassar, Ed and Cathy Twele , Brian Spearman, and Jim Day were his additional brothers and sisters in his life.

If you listen closely on a quiet night, you can probably hear the sounds of laughter and a piano belting out "Let It Be" in the heavens with Mitch and Jack finally getting to do a jam session together again after all these years.

Food

Jack's cooking was nothing short of spectacular. His iced tea remains famous, delicious, and impossible to recreate. No one made a better cup of coffee. Ask his daughter-law, Mary Rae, and his roast beef and gravy might be the reason for his son Derek getting lucky enough to marry her.

His sauce will often be imitated, but never duplicated. He especially loved preparing fresh seafood on his numerous trips to the villages of the Outer Banks in North Carolina. He cooked countless dinners for family and friends over the years and enjoyed nothing more than telling a story at the head of the table.

Music

Jack's true passion was music. He was a supremely talented guitar and piano player. He especially was a great singer. His energy and passion always stood out when he performed. He played in many bands across the Pittsburgh area and also played guitar and sang in his church folk group and choir with amazing friends.

He loved listening to music on his beloved Bose 901 series speakers and had an amazing record collection that covered so many different genres. He loved sharing this music with his family and friends.

Jack is undoubtedly listening to the Allman Brothers Band - At Fillmore East in heaven and his guitar is tuned to Open G, playing a Keith Richards style riff.

Sports

Jack's passion was also in sports.

He believed in the 3-4 defense, and running the football. His love of the Steelers was unadulterated. Win or lose, every game would be dissected with phone calls and conversations with friends and family for hours upon hours, fall after fall.

His encyclopedia-like knowledge of football remains legendary. Every year for the last 25 years, his two sons (Derek and Chris) and their best friends, Tim and Craig Fusina picked football games. He would like it known that he won the league last season and it remains memorialized in perpetuity.

He loved the Penguins as well. He preached dumping the puck in and getting to the net. The Penguins power play the last two years was not easy on his health, but he always was thankful for the privilege to watch Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

There is no comment on the Pittsburgh Pirates at this time.

Jack watched many games in his family game room surrounded by his boys and friends, and those memories will live on forever.

In Jack's memory, donations can be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action network:

https://secure.pancan.org/site/Donation2?df_id=6701&mfc_pref=T&6701.donation=form1

or Saint Sebastian Church, 801 Broad Avenue, Belle Vernon, PA 15012.

Friends will be received on Monday, August 19, 2024 from 2-4 and 6-8 PM in the Frye Funeral Home, Inc., 427 West Main Street, Monongahela.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 10:00 AM at Saint Sebastian Church, 801 Broad Avenue in Belle Vernon with the Monsignor James T. Gaston as celebrant. All guests should go directly to the church on Tuesday. Interment will follow in the Monongahela Cemetery.