JESUS ROCHA
1931 - 2021
Jesus Rocha’s life was an example of the American Dream. He was born to Valentina Perez and Reveriano Rocha on January 12, 1931 in Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. He came to the U.S. as part of the Bracero Program before marrying the love of his life, Cipriana Galvan, in 1957. Their family settled in Bakersfield in 1969. Jesus and his wife continued in farm labor until their retirement from Boswell Farms in the early 1990s to spend more time with their grandchildren.
The patriarch of the Rocha family, Jesus instilled four main values: hard work, education, joy and generosity. Hard work was taught by example. His slender stature made him nimble, able to pack grapes, potatoes and other assigned crops with an unmatched efficiency. In their youth, his three sons and daughter worked alongside, encouraged to match their father’s productivity.
Jesus knew that even though he wanted them to know the value of hard, physical labor, he wanted each of them to make their education a priority as well. No classes could be missed, no responsibilities shirked for an extra shift in the fields. He wanted more for his family than work alone could achieve.
While work and education made up the foundation for his life, his legacy of joy was built right along top of it. He was a charismatic man for whom life was a celebration. His wit and laughter were contagious and he loved to entertain family and friends. He dressed to the nines in custom-made clothing to dance endlessly to his favorite cumbias and rancheras, his beloved dance partner Chanita right alongside him. When they reached their milestone 50th anniversary in 2007, they celebrated with a vow renewal and danced the night away. On their 62nd anniversary, he revealed the secret to a lasting marriage: focus on the good.
A life built on those three tenets alone could have been enough, but Jesus Rocha made sure to instill one more value: generosity. Because what is the point of a well-lived life if it is not shared?
He donated freely to local churches and helped pay for weddings. He cooked deep pit meals for countless celebrations and was a padrino to so many. His grandchildren were spoiled with personalized jewelry, clothes and candies he brought back from his travels. A favorite family anecdote involves him bringing a cooler along to a Las Vegas vacation, just so he could bring homemade tamales to a relative who lived nearby. From his immediate family members to absolute strangers, he consistently gave all that he could and expected nothing in return.
Jesus peacefully lost his battle with dementia on March 28, 2021. Cipriana only needed one word to describe her husband of 64 years: “bueno.” Good. Jesus Rocha was a good man, and he will be greatly missed.
He is survived by his wife Cipriana Rocha, his four children Arturo Rocha (Yolanda), Armando Rocha, Sr. (Eleanor), Rosalinda Carrillo (Carlos †) and Arnoldo “Kilo” Rocha (Evette), eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
Visitation: Monday, April 19 from 1 to 5 p.m. with Rosary scheduled for 3 p.m. at Hillcrest Memorial Chapel, 9101 Kern Canyon Road. Funeral Mass: Tuesday, April 20 at 10 a.m. at Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 4600 E. Brundage Lane. Laid to rest at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Whispering Pines Garden, 9101 Kern Canyon Road.