Harry Carl “Bill” Rockwell, 83, of Salem, Oregon and formerly Vista, California passed away holding the hand of his wife of nearly 55 years on April 24, 2024.
Harry Carl Rockwell, the son of Earl and Hazel (Goff) Rockwell, was born April 18, 1941 in Yakima, Washington. Upon seeing his grandson, his Grandpa Goff declared that his name was not Harry, but Bill. His parents called him Billy, but he was known as Bill his entire life.
Bill was an adventurous boy, and extremely curious – a trait he passed on to his kids and grandkids. At Davis High School in Yakima, WA, Bill was an accomplished athlete, playing football and basketball. In High School, he started singing in the Methodist Church choir to help raise his GPA!
While Bill was a man of many talents and interests, to himself he was always a US Marine. On May 16, 1960, Bill enlisted in the US Marine Corps, where he served proudly for 20 years. The Marine Corps took him to Okinowa, Japan, Cuba, Iwakuni, Japan, Barstow, CA, El Toro, CA, Philadelphia, PA, Springfield, MA, 29 Palms, CA and Camp Pendleton, CA. After 20 years of service, he retired in July of 1980. From stories of throwing the Everly Brothers in the brig, to being a barkeep overseas, Bill loved to tell stories about being a Marine. Bill lived out Semper Fidelis – always faithful and always loyal.
In 1968 while on leave, Bill met at a pretty teacher named Ruth Rockwell at a Tupperware party. They had a whirlwind romance that unfolded during a few leaves from the Marines, which led to a phone call proposal. The two were married June 21, 1969. Following their wedding, they moved to Springfield, MA where Bill was stationed.
In 1971, the couple relocated to Oceanside, CA near Camp Pendleton. In 1973 John was welcomed into the family, and in 1976, along came Laura. The family lived in Oceanside until Bill retired from the USMC, where they moved to the Vista home where they lived for 42 years. Bill worked as a Pizza Hut Manager, warehouseman at NAPP printing company, and then settled into a job in the civil service in the Department of the Navy as an explosives operator. Following retirement from the civil service, Bill didn’t want to stop working, so he worked as a security officer at Securitas.
Bill loved his family enormously and could be found cheering John and Laura on at swim meets, clapping the loudest at piano or choir performances, and encouraging excellence in their studies. Bill was the family cake decorator, creating beautiful and sometimes elaborate cakes in the shapes of baby dolls and Pooh Bear. Every year for their wedding anniversary, Bill would give Ruth an orchid, and brought her flowers often. Bill adored his grandchildren: Danielle, Holland, Eliana, and Caleb. He even became a surrogate grandpa to children at the United Methodist Church of Vista, where he and Ruth attended for 50 years. He was the best kind of goofball, always ready to pose for a silly picture or jump scare people with a good ghost story. He was best known for his storytelling and gregarious voices as he read “There’s a Monster at the end of this
Book” and “The Book with No Pictures.” He was so proud of his grandchildren and was excited when Ryan (married to his granddaughter Danielle) joined the family a few years ago.
Bill was an active layperson in the United Methodist Church. While at Vista United Methodist Church, he could be found mixing pancake batter for the annual Easter morning pancake breakfast, getting knee deep in sewer water to help out at the Pastor’s house, leading trustees, participating in United Methodist Men, mowing the church lawn, singing in the choir, participating in Disciple Bible Study, bringing his grandkids to family camp at Cedar Glen Camp, or teaching Middle School Sunday School. Bill was the District Lay Leader for the San Diego District in the California Pacific-Annual Conference from 2002 – 2011 visiting with the District Superintendent all the churches in the district at least once a year. He coordinated the Lay ministry classes for the district for many years too.
Bill loved woodworking, and made Ruth and their kids several bookcases, and cedar chests. Bill was an accomplished calligrapher and his art is now on Bibles, baptism certificates, and wedding certificates from his time at Vista UMC. Bill was a board member at Camp Virginia, United Methodist Camp in Jullian, California. The family has many memories at Camp Virginia.
In 2018, Bill broke his hip, and while in the hospital, a dementia diagnosis was revealed. Bill and Ruth made the difficult decision to leave their home of 42 years to move closer to their daughter in 2020, and moved to West Salem in January 2021. In Salem, Bill delighted in spending time with their grandchildren, and making new friends at Morningside UMC. In February 2024, Bill moved into The Iris Memory Care.
Bill is survived by his wife, Ruth, son John Rockwell (Sian), daughter Rev. Laura Beville (Marshall), Grandchildren: Danielle Hennes (Ryan), Holland Rockwell, Eliana Beville, and Caleb Beville, Sister: Bernice Rappleye (Jim), and Nephew: Brian Rappleye (Paige). He was preceded in death by his parents, Earl and Hazel Rockwell.
A celebration of life service will be on May 27 at 1:00 p.m. at Morningside United Methodist Church, 3674 12th St SE, Salem, OR 97302. If you have a memory to share – please comment below – we’d love to hear your story!
