Sammy Ivan Rocco II

The Palestine Herald

March 20, 2008 02:30 am

— Services for Sammy Ivan Rocco II, 51, of Tyler, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Lloyd James Funeral Chapel with Mike Van Vleet and John Marcum officiating. Burial will be at Cathedral in the Pines Cemetery under the direction of Lloyd James Funeral Home.
Mr. Rocco passed away Saturday, March 15 in Tyler.
He was born on Feb. 15, 1957 in Belen, N.M. to Sammy Ivan and Hazel Mae Purinton Rocco. He was a graduate of Los Lunas High School in New Mexico. Sammy married Laura Lee Smith on Oct. 24, 1975 in Los Chavez, N.M. He recently retired from the State of Texas and moved to Lindale where he was working for Craig’s Dirt Service. He was a member of Cedar Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Palestine.
He is survived by his wife, Laura Lee Rocco of Tyler; sons, Clinton and Tonya Rocco and their children Paige and Sean of Tyler, Jody and Mandy Rocco and their daughter Keanna of Tyler; parents, Sam and Hazel Rocco of Clyde; brothers, Tom and Elona Rocco of Roseville, Calif., Kirby and Jeanne Rocco of Denver City; sisters, Sharan and Bob Hollandsworth and Leona and James Breeding all of Clyde; and a number of nieces and nephews who will truly miss their Uncle Sammy’s fun sense of humor and orneriness.
Pallbearers are Monte Hollandsworth, Trey Breeding, Travis Breeding, Patrick Rocco, Seth Crowell and Kelly Evans. Honorary pallbearers are T. Duhon, Al Ayo, Ross Rocco, Walter Crawford, Joe Davis and Shane Colston.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.
A memorial fund has been established in memory of Sammy Ivan Rocco II at Franklin Bank, 2507 University Boulevard, Tyler, Texas 75701.