Patricia Ann “Patty” Rocha, 86, died peacefully in her sleep at Windsor Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Yarmouth on Feb. 3, 2020.
Patty was born in Provincetown on Dec. 3, 1933, into a large Portuguese family, one of 17 children of the late Mary and Arthur Joseph. She was the last surviving sibling of the large Joseph family, and was predeceased by her brothers, Arthur, Mott, Phillip, Francis, and Paul Joseph, and her sisters, Helen Davenport and Rosie Morris.
Patty was the wife of the late Frederico P. Rocha Sr., of whom she remembered with much happiness “that it was true love at first sight.” She became a stay-at-home mom and was a patient and loving mother for her kids — she loved buying little gifts for them. Her generosity didn’t stop with her family. She treated her kids’ friends like her own. She would give someone a gift for no reason and spend her last dime to help a stray animal. She adored all animals and had many of them throughout her life. She loved math. She taught her daughter Mary math and a love of working with numbers at an early age. She devoted her entire life to her children and enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren.
Patty is survived by her daughter Mary I. Welles and her husband, Patrick, of Yarmouth Port; her son Dennis R. Rocha and his wife, Barbara, of Connecticut; and many nieces and nephews. She was greatly loved by her grandchildren: Dennis Rocha Jr., Cassandra, Gabriella, Sebastian, Isabella, and Savannah Welles. She was predeceased by a daughter, Linda Marie Rocha, and a son, Frederico P. Rocha Jr., known as Freddie.
Family and friends are invited to a funeral Mass to be held on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 10 a.m. at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, 11 Prince St., Provincetown. Burial will follow in St. Peter’s Cemetery.
To share a memory or leave an online condolence, go to gatelyfuneralservice.com.
