October 9, 1923 - October 11, 2018
It is with sadness that Christina Rocker of Sidney B.C. announces the death of her beloved husband of nearly seventy two years. Eric died as he would have wished, suddenly, while working around the house and in apparent good health: time, not disease was the enemy. Eric leaves behind two sons; Jim (Carol) and Edward (Marie,) four grandchildren, Jennifer, Christopher, Daniel and Samantha and three great grandchildren, Liam, Leah, and Elyse. He was predeceased by his grandson, James Arthur Rocker.
In his late teens and early twenties, Eric served in the Merchant Navy spending six birthdays at sea and was decorated for service in the Atlantic, Pacific, Italy, France and Germany. After the war he settled in London where he opened a grocery and liquor store. In 1966 he moved to Calgary and started a building cleaning business which is still being run by his younger son Edward. In 1980, Eric and Christina moved to Sidney and Eric got to follow his real passions; ballroom dancing and bridge - spending the winter months of the year in Arizona. Eric embraced life. He lived it on his own terms and was proud of the fact that he was his own man. His keen mind and insight stayed with him to the end: he could truly say that he was master of his own ship. He was a great mentor to his sons and was loved and admired for his physical strength and moral courage. He will be greatly missed.
As per Eric's wishes, he was cremated without ceremony. A celebration of his life will be organized at a date and place to be decided by his family.
The Rocker family wishes to express their thanks to the nurses and doctors at Saanich Peninsula Hospital and to Simply Cremations of Sidney, who handled matters with the utmost professional courtesy.