Roll Call Tribute

Leon Edward Rochen 

November 28, 1933 - November 8, 2024 

Leon Edward Rochen passed away peacefully on November 8, 2024. Leon was born on November 28, 1933, the fifth child of Ed and Rosa Rochen of Waller, Texas. He grew up happily in a bustling farming household that included 8 siblings. Graduating from Waller High School in 1951, he proceeded first to Blinn College and then to Texas A&M University, from which he graduated in 1954. Serving in the US Army Medical Service Corps, Leon was honorably discharged from the service in 1956.

Leon married Glynda Lynn McCarty on December 27, 1958. Thereafter, he worked as a sales representative in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. In 1966, he began his career in pharmaceutical sales with the Upjohn Company of Kalamazoo, Michigan. This was a calling he wholeheartedly embraced. Leon earned the Upjohn Company Academy Award on three occasions and the prestigious WE Upjohn Award, which recognized his outstanding continuous contributions to the company. This award was bestowed upon only a tiny number of employees during the history of the company.

Leon and Glynda enjoyed a long career with the company, moving to Fort Worth, Odessa, El Paso, and ultimately Houston, Texas. They raised two sons, Jeffrey and Terry, during those years. Retiring from Upjohn in 1994, Leon and Glynda remained in Houston, Texas.

During his post-retirement years, Leon began a second career with the Texas Academy of Family Practice, as an executive vice president coordinating continuing medical education for family physicians. In 2024, the Academy honored Leon by naming a scholarship and annual lecture after him. Upon Glynda’s passing in 2011, Leon fulfilled the middle child role of his family by initiating the annual Rochen family reunion, which remains a summertime treat for the family now. He and nephew Frank Werner launched an ambitious plan to conserve and protect the cemetery in Waller hosting many of their departed relatives. At home, Leon was ever the gracious host, entertaining his sons, daughters-in-law, and his two granddaughters. Attending First United Methodist Church was Leon’s newfound joy and he served as a greeter at its front door.

Leon is preceded in death by his wife Glynda Rochen; his parents, Ed and Rosa Rochen; his brothers, Albin Rochen and Walter Rochen; and his sisters, Sophie Granowski, Edna Neuman, and Marie Biskup. He is survived by son Jeffrey Rochen and wife Shari; son Terry Rochen and wife Angie; granddaughters Natalie Rochen and Sarah Rochen; brother George Rochen and sisters Agnes McDonald and Lillian Werner.

In lieu of flowers, please consider instead a donation to the Leon E. Rochen scholarship and annual lecture at the Texas Academy of Family Practice. He will be interred at a later date with his wife Glynda at Bluebonnet Hills in Colleyville, Texas.