Lauro P. Rochino

All services are private.

Lauro “Larry” Parcon Rochino, 76, of Bowie, MD died Sunday, March 15, 2020. Lauro was born on August 18, 1943 in the midst of World War II, in the mountainous Tigbao barrio of Calatrava, Negros Occidental, Philippines. He was the third son of two elementary school teachers who had originally moved from Iloilo City to Tigbao in 1937, the late Asuncion P. Rochino and Dioscoro C. Rochino, and grew up alongside four brothers and a sister.

An entrepreneur from a young age, nine-year-old Lauro convinced his classmates to sell him the produce from their own gardens.  Then every Sunday at the Mabini Market in Escalante, Lauro sold the entire lot of produce for his own profit.  As a pre-teen, he discovered that he could even sell the bat guano retrieved from the elementary school ceilings as fertilizer! This ingenuity and natural head for business would later provide him with the ability to support his wife and four children.

Lauro’s family eventually moved to the coastal town of Escalante, Negros Occidental when his father was promoted to the role of Elementary School Principal. Here Lauro completed his elementary and high school education, and graduated at the top of his class each year. A talented student, he went on to complete a 5-year course in Chemical Engineering at the University of San Agustin in Iloilo City, and was the first graduate of the university’s Department of Technology to have earned the honor of Magna cum Laude.

In the mid-1960s, Lauro met Cecilia, the daughter of Benjamin and Lucia Nicolo from Passi, Iloilo.  Lauro was so smitten by Cecilia that during their courtship, he was known to repeatedly cajole his friends into giving him rides all the way to her house and back, just so that he could bring her flowers or a gift. His charm and tenacity paid off, and in May of 1969 they married in Tacurong, Cotabato.  Lauro loved his wife wholeheartedly, and from the beginning of their relationship he made it his life’s work to care for and provide for her, and later for their family, in the best way he knew how.

After the birth of their first two children, Catherine and Geraldine, Lauro left the Philippines in 1972 to pursue his dream of living in the United States, moving to Butler County, Pennsylvania where he worked as a manufacturing technician at the Mars Company. In 1973, Cecilia and the two girls left the Philippines to join him.  With his family together once again, he left the Mars Company to put his engineering degree to work at Three Mile Island as a Chemical Engineer, and then in 1977, the opportunity to work in a similar role at Forked River Plant moved the family to Barnegat, New Jersey. In 1979, the Rochinos embarked on a new adventure in Maryland when Lauro accepted a role as a Chemical Engineer at PEPCO, later moving to Synthetic Fuels.

The birth of Randolph and Jennifer, the youngest of his children, solidified the family’s roots in Bowie, Maryland.   Lauro’s interests turned to his earlier entrepreneurial successes, and he went on to complete his MBA at Marymount University in Arlington, VA.  Fueled by his business acumen, drive, and motivation, Lauro used the knowledge gained during his MBA program to take on new challenges, including selling real estate with Merrill Lynch, life insurance with Prudential, and eventually opening a thriving practice as a business consultant, financial planner and tax preparer.

Because of the high value he placed on education, Lauro worked hard to ensure that all four of his own children went to college, and successfully instilled in each of them the value of earning an advanced degree. Thanks to his energetic support and encouragement, after graduating with their bachelor's degrees, all four children went on to earn advanced degrees in the fields of education, nursing and law.

Lauro was an active parishioner at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Bowie, and was well known for his infectious smile and laughter, love of mahjong, poker, and a good cup of coffee. Always ready with a friendly hello, there wasn’t a diner, cafe or truck stop in the Bowie area whose staff did not greet him by name and offer him his favorite seat. With an endearing style of speaking that implied that he was always right - and he frequently was - Lauro demonstrated his care and regard for friends and family alike by providing them with sound advice on anything from car maintenance to financial planning to driving directions to their own homes.

Lauro was equally admired for his generosity and giving, maintaining a strong connection to his roots in his native Philippines, and spent the last 47 years supporting an orphanage as well as current engineering students at his alma mater. He was generous in spirit as well - while he believed in standing up for oneself during a disagreement, after things were resolved Lauro was quick to forgive and forget, and did not hold a grudge against anyone.

Lauro is survived by his wife of 50 year, Cecilia N. Rochino; his children, Catherine Rochino Callihan and her husband Patrick, Geraldine Rochino and her wife Amy, Randolph Rochino and his wife Ashley, Jennifer Rochino; and his grandchildren Caitlin, Connor, and Cassidy Callihan; Charlotte and Calvin Rochino; and Arianne Rochino, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, and friends.  His memory will forever make us smile and laugh.

Due to the challenges posed by COVID-19, services will be private.  A celebration of Lauro’s life will be scheduled for family and friends at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to EWTN Global Catholic Network, 5817 Old Leeds Road, Irondale, AL 35210  or by phone 1-800-447-EWTN.