Wednesday, December 30, 2009

"A Candle in the Wind"

I remember my grandmother telling me to savor every hour of every day you personally are here on this earth, and also the hours you have with those you love, because one of two things inevitably will happen. Either you will live to be a ripe old age with no clue where the years have gone and why you're not still young. Or life will come abruptly and tragically to an end at a much too young age, and there will be no more hours together. Ever.
Last Sunday we lost a wonderful young man who will be missed every day by all of us who loved and still love him. Sending up prayers for my friends, the Rochlin's. And everybody else who mourns or weeps or grieves this day. We will say goodbye to Charley this morning at 9:00 am. With full military honors.


On a cold, breezy Monday afternoon in Westport, friends and family of the late Charles "Charley" Rochlin filtered through the same Meeker Road residence where the 24-year-old native was raised and returned to when he wasn't serving his country overseas as a U.S. Marine. Seated together around the kitchen island were Rochlin's three younger sisters -- Taylor, 9, Kendall, 12, and Brittany, 21. Slouched in their stools, the three girls said little; their necks glimmered from the personalized diamond pendants their older brother had given to each of them on Christmas morning, less than 48 hours before he was killed in a Sunday morning car accident on Greens Farm Road. Rochlin was traveling in a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by his childhood friend Matthew Packer, 25, of Westport, when wet and foggy conditions forced the vehicle off the roadway and into a tree at about 2:45 a.m. on Sunday. The collision, which produced severe damage to the passenger side of the vehicle, killed Rochlin and sent Packer to Norwalk Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Westport police said. Rochlin's parents described their son on Monday as a family-oriented young man, honored to serve his country as a Marine and happy to live life as an American. "My Charley was dedicated to his family," said his stepmother, Lucretia Rochlin. "A huge, huge part of his life were his three sisters. They adored him; Charley was their hero." So much in fact that when the young Marine returned home in September after a seven-month tour in Iraq, the youngest of the three brought her brother to Coleytown Elementary School for show-and-tell, Lucretia Rochlin said. Whether it was answering questions for a room full of elementary school children or helping his blind, 91-year-old great-grandmother navigate the house, Charley Rochlin had a way of relating to different personalities, she said. "He loved to help people, he was the least selfish person you would ever meet," Lucretia Rochlin said. Born in Westport on Sept. 14, 1985, Charley Rochlin played competitive sports since childhood, taking home junior golf championships and numerous pee-wee hockey trophies, said his father, Scott Rochlin. He attended Fairfield College Preparatory School for three years and played varsity ice hockey, helping lead the Jesuits to two state championship titles, Scott Rochlin said. He went on to graduate from Staples High School before spending a year at Norwalk Community College and another three years at the University of Colorado. In March of 2008, he sat his parents down and announced his intentions to act on his dream of becoming a U.S. Marine, his father said. The family was proud of his intentions and supportive every step of the way, Scott Rochlin said. "I was obviously nervous what with everything that was happening," he said. "Those seven months he was away (on tour in Iraq) I can tell you I got very little sleep." Rochlin had only recently returned home for Christmas break and was scheduled to ship off in early January for a second tour, this time in Afghanistan, his father said. Scott Rochlin awoke Sunday morning expecting to celebrate his own birthday with his wife and children. Instead, there was no celebration; Charley Rochlin was gone. "I was really looking forward to spending my birthday with (Charley)," Scott Rochlin said. "We never quite got there." The funeral will be held on Dec. 30 at 9 a.m. at Saint Luke Church, 49 Turkey Hill Road North, Westport. Interment with full military honors will follow in Willowbrook Cemetery, 395 Main St., Westport. The accident is still under investigation and the Westport Police Department is requesting that anyone who may have witnessed or has information about the accident call the police department at (203) 341-6000.
WESTPORT
By CHASE WRIGHT
Hour Staff Writer

16 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh... that is so sad. My thoughts and prayers are with his family friends. What a lovely life he lived...

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  2. My heart is heavy reading this. Sending love and prayers of comfort to you all.
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  3. What a tragedy for everyone. What a wonderful person he was. Thoughts and prayers going up north.

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  4. This is incredibly sad. The picture of the three girls at the table, with their tears and their Christmas presents from their beloved big brother, hanging from their shoulders. It's just too much. Oh, so sad.

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  5. May he rest in peace and may his family and friends find comfort in his memory

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  6. so very sad. prayers for his family and friends are being sent from me.

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  7. What a waste of life and it's so sad. I'm so sorry for your friends' loss.

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  8. What a heartbreaking, but beautiful tribute to a beautiful young man! I'm having trouble typing for the tears and I hurt so much for his family. May he rest in peace.

    Sylvia

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  9. I'm so sorry...a lovely tribute.

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  10. how I wish you did not need to write this at all...

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  11. Tragic. I'm so sorry for those who experience such loss. A lovely tribute to a fine young man.

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