Delbert N. Rocha Jr. was born Sept. 23, 1957 to Delbert and Mary Rocha Sr in Fortuna. Delbert passed away on Feb 12., 2020 unexpectedly at St. Joseph Hospital.

Delbert was born and raised on a dairy farm in Centerville until 1968, when the family moved to Orick. There he started milking cows, bucking hay, and anything else that was needed to help out on the farm. He also took the liking to two- and three-wheelers, where he raised hell riding them. He also could ride a horse like no other, doing tricks that would keep his parents on their toes.

Delbert graduated McKinleyville High School in 1976 and decided to try his hand in the woods. The day after graduation he went to work for Arcata Redwood Company as a timber faller. Being the loyal, hard-working man he was he stuck with them through several ownership changes, job titles and over 30 years of employment. His last job was a road builder until everyone was laid off permanently. He took so much pride in his work and was proud to show me the culverts, bridges, water bars, logging settings while we were out hunting. He truly loved the various jobs he had with the company.

In 1984 Delbert had a baby girl named Amanda. He was the proudest father in the world and it showed. Everywhere he went he would always tell people how much he loved me and how proud he was. Since his passing I have been told even more so by close friends and complete strangers. My dad was my rock and supporter in everything that I did — even if he didn’t like it, he would go along with it. Our bond was stronger than ever. We were more than just father and daughter, we were hunting partners, rode dirt bikes back in the day, ranched, vetted cows and horses, telling stories and any other shenanigans we could find. In 2017 he was even more proud to become “father-in-law” to Nick. They became inseparable. Most of the time you could find them riding around looking at jobs, cows, horses, shooting the breeze and who knows what else they did on their errands.

In 2005 he was given the role of being a Papa to his first born grandchild Kyndel Marie, who was named after him. As if my dad couldn’t have been more proud he took that little girl everywhere just like he did with me as a kid. When she was mad at her mom, who would she call? Papa, and of course he was right there to make everything better. In 2011 he was a Papa again but this time to his grandson Landen. Life was even better and complete having two grand babies. He got the pleasure of babysitting them quite a bit while I had to work and they always looked forward to their days of when Papa Delbert was going to pick them up from school. He was at every single winter performance, softball game, basketball game, BMX race, holiday dinner, birthday party, hospital visit or any other event that involved the kids.

The last several years Delbert has been semi-retired and tending to his cows in McKinleyville and Blue Lake. Those were his passion and hobby besides being with his family. He enjoyed feeding and watching them grow. In the last year he decided he needed to take over my horse feedings because he didn’t want me out in the dark feeding by myself. Who knew my dad could fall in love with donkeys and a filly. He called them his me honkeys and grape ape. His other hobby and pride and joy was his Harley Davidson Softail. He became a member of a motorcycle club who quickly became family as well. They would go on rides, participate in events such as the toy run and even enjoyed the Redwood Run last year.

Delbert also was a wonderful son who loved and took care of his mother, or should I say they took care of each other. They too had a very special bond that could never be broken.

Delbert is proceeded in death by his father, Delbert N Rocha Sr. He is survived by his mother Mary Rocha, daughter Amanda Harpe (Nick Green), grandchildren Kyndel and Landen Harpe, Sisters: Sue Walker (Don) and Janet Rocha, Nephew: Chris Lyons (Lacey) and Niece: Tonya Cornelius (Jaime).

We invite you to his celebration of life on March 14th at the Azalea Hall at 2 p.m. in McKinleyville. Bring a story to share since dad was full of them and wouldn’t want it any other way. Come wearing your muck boots, cork boots, on your Harley, motorcycle or in your hot rod — he loved them all! We will be serving lunch but please bring your favorite dessert dish to share with everyone.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Delbert Rocha’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.