Jerry Lee Rockow 1940 - 2025

Jerry Lee Rockow died July 21, 2025, in Bend, Oregon. He was 84. The son of Vernard Rockow and Ada (Wille) Rockow, he was born August 17, 1940, in a farmhouse in Barron County, Wisconsin.

He graduated in 1958 from Barron Area High School in Wisconsin, and moved to Oregon in 1963. Jerry worked in maintenance at McMinnville Community Hospital until an illness forced him into early retirement in 1982.

He married Betty Cooper on August 13, 1965, in Salem, Oregon. Jerry and Betty moved to McMinnville, Oregon, where they bought their first home in 1969. In 1994, Jerry and Betty moved to the Sunriver area, and in 2016 they moved to Prineville to be near family.

Jerry loved the outdoors. He was an avid fisherman, hunter, and gardener. He built the addition on his home in McMinnville, repaired his and family members’ vehicles, gave sound advice, instilled a strong work ethic in his children, and delivered the best one-liners and Dad jokes. When it came to garage sales, Jerry had a special gift: with just a raise of his eyebrow, the seller would start lowering the price. He loved his dogs, CJ and Lilly, and parakeet, Rip. Jerry was a big sports fan. It was not unusual to find him holding a radio to his ear, along with a small TV and large TV playing different games simultaneously. The Trail Blazers, Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Braves, and WNBA were his favorites.

He was preceded in death by his parents. Jerry is survived by his wife, Betty of Prineville; daughters, Barbara Rockow-Hanes, Christine Price (Aaron), and Leslie Ryan (Jon), all of Prineville; sister, Gloria Carmody of Portland; and grandchildren, Alex, Jackson, Megan, Zane, and Zoey.

A gathering will be held at a later date