{"id":20316,"date":"2026-08-07T01:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T01:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=20316"},"modified":"2026-08-07T01:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T01:34:11","slug":"in-memoriam-larry-stanley-rocker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/07\/in-memoriam-larry-stanley-rocker\/","title":{"rendered":"In Memoriam — Larry Stanley Rocker"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"June 7, 1952 – July 22, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Larry Stanley Rocker was born on June 7, 1952, in Monroe, Michigan. He was one of six children from the union of Peter Rocker and Anna Lee (Nelson) Rocker. At a young age, Larry and his family moved to Toledo, Ohio, but his heart was always in Michigan.<\/p>\n

A natural athlete, he attended Thomas A. DeVilbiss High School, where he played basketball and excelled on the baseball diamond. He graduated in 1970. The early love for the game of baseball never left him. As an adult he continued playing softball and took up umpiring which became a lifelong passion. This joy led him to travel all over the country. He participated in the Little League World Series both as a coach and as an umpire. He was a fixture amongst the Cooperstown baseball community elite. At home he umpired countless high school playoff games and adult softball over the years.<\/p>\n

Professionally, Larry built his career as a millwright and fitter with Detroit Edison and was also proficient at operating overhead cranes. He genuinely loved what he did and was extremely devoted to his job, seldom missing a day of work no matter the weather, conditions, or difficulty; he was solid and dependable. That dedication allowed him to be a generous and loving provider for his family, as he himself, naturally, indulged himself in his passions. One was automobiles, as \u201cRock\u201d always had a assortment of \u201cwhips\u201d in his garage and driveway.<\/p>\n

Larry was loved by everyone; he carried himself with charm and warmth that people simply gravitated too. He was known for his impeccable style. A sharp dresser, his presence and style took command of space. He was \u201cSuperfly\u201d, one of his favorite movies, as he was naturally cool and confident. He loved music and always had a grasp of any genre. But smooth jazz was his favorite and was a fixture on the Jazz Festival scene. This passion saw him doing occasional jazz concert promotional work, as he shared his passion for this art form with everyone around him.<\/p>\n

Larry loved to travel, and he made the most of every opportunity to see new places, recently visiting Cancun, Mexico. Still, no matter how far he traveled, his heart never left Detroit. He loved the city and the state of Michigan; he was an avid state sports fan, cheering for Lions, Tigers, Red Wings, and Wolverines, at home and in person. He shared these times with his family and friends.<\/p>\n

Above all else, family was truly at the center of Larry’s life. He relished his role as \u201cBig Rock\u201d to his siblings, who, along with his children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, adored him. He was always our \u201chighlight\u201d. Most importantly he always made sure they knew how much they were loved.<\/p>\n

Larry Stanley Rocker, age 74, of Monroe passed away on Wednesday; July 22, 2026, at Hospice of Northwest Ohio in Toledo. His passing was preceded by his parents; a daughter: LaTasha Toles; a brother: Timothy Rocker Booker; and a sister: Carmen \u201cCandy\u201d Burruss.<\/p>\n

To cherish his memory, he leaves three children: Stephanie (Jerry) Fortner, Leslie Lavender, and Marvin \u201cShug\u201d (Sara) Isaac all of Monroe; five siblings: Delbra Blackshear of Toledo, Ohio, Peter (Eve) Rocker of Atlanta, Georgia, Eric (Joy) Rocker of Toledo, Alexander (Fariba) Rocker of Vancouver, Canada, and Floyd Epps Rocker of Ypsilanti, Michigan; thirteen grandchildren; and five great grandchildren.<\/p>\n

Friends may gather from 11:00am until 1:00pm on Saturday; August 1, 2026, at Merkle Funeral Service, South Monroe; 14567 South Dixie Highway, Monroe, Michigan 48161 (734) 241-7070. A Homegoing Celebration of His Life will follow at 1:00pm, also at Merkle\u2019s. Burial will take place at Woodlawn Cemetery and Arboretum in Toledo on Monday; August 3, 2026.<\/p>\n

Memorial donations are suggested to the Arthur Lesow Community Center Monroe Michigan.<\/p>\n

Online guests may leave words of inspiration and comfort or share a photo by visiting www.merklefs.com.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

June 7, 1952 – July 22, 2026 Larry Stanley Rocker was born on June 7, 1952, in Monroe, Michigan. He was one of six children from the union of Peter Rocker and Anna Lee (Nelson) Rocker. At a young age, Larry and his family moved to Toledo, Ohio, but his heart was always in Michigan. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[250],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[359],"class_list":["post-20316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20316"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20318,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20316\/revisions\/20318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20316"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=20316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}