Raymond C. “Rocky” Voth, 92, passed away on Saturday, October 26, 2013 at his home in Burlington. He was born on March 15, 1921 in Stanford, Montana, the 9th of 12 children born to William and Katherine (Wedel) Voth.
He was married to Marjorie (Thompson) Davis on April 25, 1942 in Everett, Washington. He later married Helen (Hanger) Cheney on April 11, 1975 in Tacoma, WA. Both preceded him in death.
Rocky was proud of his service to his country. He served with the “Seabees” division of the U.S. Navy during WWII, serving in the South Pacific Theatre from 1943 to 1945.
Upon returning to the Skagit Valley, he worked in the logging industry as a “cat skinner” and “high rigger”. He also worked in construction and was a member of the Operators Union. He lived in various areas of Montana, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska.
He had a great love for family history and enjoyed telling stories to his family and friends when they visited. His family will miss his wonderful wit and sense of humor.
Rocky is survived by his daughters, Shirley (Hal) Williams and Maureen Cordova; son, William (Kitty) Voth; eight grandchildren, Brent Williams, Sonya Buckner, Brad Sopher, Brock Williams, Daphne Voth, Nikki Williams, Todd Sopher and Jason Voth and 13 great-grandchildren; his sister, Ruby Youngren; numerous nieces and nephews, as well as his beloved dog Mitzie.
A memorial service will be held at Lemley Chapel in Sedro-Woolley on Saturday, November 2, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Salvation Army, Meals on Wheels, the Humane Society or a charity of your choice. Inurnment will take place at the Tahoma National Cemetery at a later date.
With tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat I am thinking about my best childhood friend Shirley and Maureen and Bill as children when I spent so many days and nights at their house. Rocky and Marge were so much fun and yes, he was a real gentleman. When I was 10 years old they took me with them on a trip to Montana and I met a lot of the Voths,,,what great memories. Thank you Mary for letting me know and for the last visit we had with Rocky. Sorry I missed the service Shirley as I was still in CA. but thoughts and prayers were with you,. I love you all so much and hope to see you soon.
Our special thoughts are with you all…
Dear Shirley & Hal and Family,
Thinking of you all with sympathy and love.
Rocky, you are home now. RIP
What a wonderful gentleman Ray was – we were so happy to have met him and to have been able to spend time with Ray.
Thank you for taking such good care of my mother.
My heart goes out to all of the family..
Had the best visit in late September/early October. Now we say goodbye to the “far shore”. Looking forward to sharing in a memorial with family and all on Saturday. With love, Dan
Seeing you and Mitzi just over a year ago, was such a highlight for me. Your sweet eyes had a sparkle and your kind heart was full of love. You were my Grandmother’s playmate as a child, and a wonderful friend to her as you both aged. Seeing you again brought back comforting memories of her and your mannerisms were all Voth! Love does not stop at death, this we know. Glad I had a chance to give you a hug during that visit and see your little palace. You’ll be missed by all whose lives you touched. Much Love, Tami (and Vilnis).
My thoughts and prayers are with all of Rockys family. I again am reminded that if I have a strong feeling about going to visit someone I need to act on it. I have been thinking of stopping by for weeks and just kept thinking I would go the next day.
Rocky was an amazing man and such a kind heart. I am so thankful to have known him and call him my friend.. Maureen, Bill and Shirley and the rest of the family………my heart hurts for you all but I also know that we will all see him again. God bless you all!
Papa
You shared with me your heart and home and loved me as your own. It was and is a privilege and an honour to have been your daughter-inlaw and I will miss you so.
I’m not going to say good-bye, I will say I love you, and see you later.
I love you Papa
Rocky, i will never forget our times together.I will always miss you, your humor and knowledge of the world in which we live. I’ll see you in heaven.
Our DearShirley, Hal and all the family, Thanks Nikki for letting us know about your loss. We all think of you at this time. Wish I could come to the service. Love and think of you all. Betty You were so faithful in visiting him and know you are so glad you did.
Loved the way you looked at me when we shared your life uncle Rocky. You were the best uncle a girl could have. You taught us courage. We appreciated your service in the military also. Your kisses still are on my cheek. Loved our phone conversations about cooking and family and at the end you never missed a chance to say “I love you. ” You made me feel like a pnincess when I talked with you. I still want to go to Alaska to see where all you lived and Tami and I loved to hear your stories about trapping and trails and game there, logging and timber and all. You were 20 feet tall in my eyes. It will be only a few more years til we see you again. Good bye for now. Your niece Joani
Thanks for letting us know about his passing. Never met him but sounds like a fun person to be around. Just want you to know we are thinking of you at this time.
Thinking of you! With love aand care!
Dearest Bill, Kitty and families ~
We are so sorry to hear that you lost your Dad. It’s a fact we all must meet face-to-face at some point in our lives and even though many people say, at a time like this, “…he had a good life” or “…his time had come”, we know as the children left behind, that we are never, ever ready to let them go, even if it is for the “better”.
I know Rocky had physical issues with which he dealt on a daily basis and I’m sure being unable to do things for himself was extremely frustrating and probably grated on him. He’s that “old stock” kind of guy (like my Daddy) who was bound and determined to take care of himself. What a generation they were … proud, independent, capable, loving, wonderful men. God love them all.
There are blessings to be counted amid this heartbreaking loss though. How wonderful that you all had Rocky in your lives for so long. You are blessed by hearing his stories and learning of your ancestrial family, your heritage and the wisdom and knowledge he passed along to each of you.
The adjustments you will be called upon to make without his physical presence will sometimes be painful and other times bittersweet, but through it all your Dad will have his hand upon your shoulder to help guide you, he will the “conscience” that will follow you as you make decisions in the future and he will be that instinct of solid reasoning that you feel ~ it will be his voice that whispers in your ear.
We want you to know that we love you very much and feel your loss. It’s not just sympathy that we offer you or even our prayers, we are family … we have that same pain in our hearts and a lump in our throats as we send you this message. So please remember, wherever you are or whatever you do we are right next to you, as is your Dad … just a thought away, always within reach, watching over you and waiting patiently for the day when we all go home and celebrate our long awaited reunion . . .
With loving thoughts ~
To the greatest grandfather a grandson could ever have,I am grateful for the time I had with my grandpa,the wisdom ,the love,the humor,the knowledge will be with me till the end of my days.I thank you papa rocky for just being you,if I am half the man you were I will have lived a good life,Thank You Papa Rocky I love you and will always have you on my mind and in my heart you left a footprint for all of us the size of Alaska.
Love you forever…………..your daughter, Maureen