Francis Rohlena Obituary (1942 – 2021) – Everett, WA
Francis Edmund “Frank” Rohena, 79, of Front Royal, Virginia, died on September 25, 2021 at Prince William Medical Center of complications from heart surgery.
A Christian funeral mass will be held on Friday, October 8, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 120 West Main Street, Front Royal.
Francis was born on September 21, 1942 to Frank A. and Frances Sonka Rohena and grew up on the family farm with his two sisters in a predominantly Czech community near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Francis entered the Air Force and served honorably, cementing his love for the military, and gaining aircraft mechanical skills that would serve him for the rest of his life. He worked in California for a while and eventually moved to Everett, where he began a 25-year career with Boeing building commercial aircraft. Francis was on one of the first test flights of the Boeing 767.
Always a man who followed his dreams, Francis retired from his first career in 2000 and moved to Arizona where he would open a coffee shop, Francisco’s Espresso Plus, which had good coffee, great service and even better conversation. Following his dreams again, Francis fulfilled a lifelong desire to move to Colorado, where he lived, worked, and worshiped with the Rocky Mountains in view for over 15 years. He retired to a quiet country life in Front Royal, Virginia last year.
Francis was a man of deep faith and love for his family. His Catholicism was a constant aspect of his life and he was an advocate of Eucharistic adoration wherever he went. Always a man with a plan, he never stopped helping his family find ways to thrive, no matter what difficulties they faced. They never ceased to be in his daily supplications to the Lord, even as he suffered towards the end of his life.
He leaves behind his beloved wife Maria Cecilia; Blood Children: Michael Rohlena (Teresa), Vickay Smith (Paul), Edmund Rohlena (Carola), Lori McConnell (Tim), Mark Rohlena (Danielle), Stephen Rohena, Christi Kelly (Jack) and Jessica Lowery (Robbie); Children of your choice: Victor Vaz, David Vaz, Anita Vaz, Cynthia Perry, Rafael Cuenca Arciniega and Luis Cuenca Arciniega; many grandchildren; Sisters Barb Ashbacher, Pat Semelroth, their families, many Bohemian cousins and friends around the world.
The family will be welcoming friends to the Maddox Funeral Home at 105 West Main Street, Front Royal, VA, Thursday, October 7, 2021, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Instead of flowers, commemorative donations can be made to St. Jude’s Hospital or Priests for Life.
09/21/1942 – 09/25/2021
Published by The Herald (Everett) October 7-8, 2021.