Frances “Fran” Rocco, 97, of Lusby, MD, went home to be with Jesus on the warm and sunny morning of September 12, 2024, at The Hermitage in Solomons, MD. She was born May 6, 1927, in Motta Santa Lucia, Italy, to the late Saverio and Mariangela (Blasco) Bevacqua. In 1940, at the age of 13, she and her family moved to the small steel milling town of Ambridge, PA. She worked at a hosiery shop by day and took English classes by night. With her roots planted deeply in the traditions of her home country, Fran would go on to grow the tallest of trees here in America, with branches reaching across several states, each one adorned in leaves of love and light that will forever shelter the family she loved so dearly.

In the 1950s, Fran made her home in Hyattsville, MD with the love of her life and her husband of nearly 62 years, the late Joseph “Joe” Rocco. There, she spent many happy years raising her children and eventually embracing the role of grandmother, as she blissfully watched her kids have babies of their own. In the 1990s, the family moved to Lusby, MD, where Fran served as an active member of her church, Our Lady Star of the Sea. She never met a stranger, and she was a blessing to all who knew her. The two things Fran cherished above all else were her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and her ever-growing family, for whom she prayed diligently each and every day. As her legacy lives on, she will always be remembered for her treasury of family recipes, passed down from generation to generation, her Calabrian Christmas Eve spaghetti and fish dinners, backyard pool parties with homemade popsicles, the sweet songs she would sing to make her grandbabies smile, the endless bowls of pastina that healed many hungry tummies, and the countless gatherings around her kitchen table that anchored her family together time and time again.

Fran was the person you could always call when you needed guidance or just wanted to hear a friendly and familiar voice. Whether you were sharing good news or feeling a bit blue, she was always there to listen, to share stories and memories, and to remind us that our faith in Jesus can get us through anything. Though she may no longer be a phone call or a car ride away, she lives on in our hearts and prayers. And although we will miss her greatly in this life, we know that she is joyfully, tearlessly, and painlessly awaiting the day when we will be reunited with her, as well as our Lord Jesus, and all the dear souls we love who have followed our Shepherd to Paradise.

Preceding her in death, in addition to her parents and her husband, were her daughter, Gloria Torrell, and her three sisters, Anita Lewis, Ida Bevacqua, and Mary Villella. She is survived by her son, Ron Rocco and his wife Neca Rocco of Lusby, MD; sister-in-law Shirley Wink and her husband Curtice Wink of Buckeystown, MD; son-in-law Tom Torrell of Bowie, MD; grandchildren, Lindsey Johnson and her husband Justin Johnson of Spring Branch, TX, Marie Torrell and her fiancé Joe Mullikin of Severna Park, MD, Courtney Bowles and her husband Jeff Bowles of Spring Branch, TX, and Ryan Rocco and his wife Angela Rocco of Devine, TX; great-grandchildren, Nora, Austin, and Stella Johnson, and Clementine, Creedence, and Violet Bowles of Spring Branch, TX, Liam Mullikin of Severna Park, MD, and Ryder and Eliana Rocco of Devine, TX; as well as many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

For one last time, Fran gathered her family and friends together, from near and far, as they celebrated her “going home” party on September 19^th, with a traditional Catholic service at Our Lady Star of the Sea; the following morning, her body was laid to rest next to that of her beloved husband, Joe, at the beautiful Crownsville Veterans Cemetery.

Fran loved flowers, but she does not need them where she is now. All she would ask in her honor is that you follow Jesus and trust the Lord in everything that you do, take care of yourself, eat good food, enjoy time with your family, make lots of memories, and love one another as much as she loved all of us.