03/13/2026
❤ From David's Obituary❤
David Miles Rothrock, passed peacefully, surrounded by his family on March 8, 2026. He was born in Spokane, WA on October 1, 1940 to Frank Wallace and Eleanor (Twohy) Rothrock.
He attended St. Augustine’s Elementary School, Gonzaga Preparatory, and Washington State University, where he studied “animal husbandry”. For a short time afterwards, he worked in the Stockyards, which his grandfather started, earning enough money for a budget trip to Europe with his good friend, Pat Shine. Before they left, David’s older brother, Rocky, somewhat wary of the journey, made these two young guys promise to visit every Catholic Church they saw on their travels. They readily agreed but later were shocked to discover the frequency of churches! They spent an unusual amount of time in empty church pews, soaking up the quiet of these holy places. That became a precious indelible memory.
In 1962, David joined the Jesuits. One of his first assignments was to Bellarmine High School, to teach French, a language he didn’t know at the time. Not to be deterred, he tried to keep one or two lessons ahead of his students. Later, he would spend three years in Ambleteuse, a L’Arche community on the coast of France, where he would become proficient in French.
In July 1976, David would join Fr. Peter Byrne, pastoring at St. Leo Parish, Tacoma, WA. Here, he would meet a couple of men with intellectual disabilities that would shape the direction of his life by their great need for community. Peter and David invited these two (Greg Hanon and Fred Kobel) for supper one night and were astonished when they returned every night for weeks around 6 PM hungry for more than the simple meal. David wondered if those nightly knocks on the door might be a vocational call… But maybe, they needed to welcome Greg and Fred to actually live with them. And thus began what is now L’Arche Tahoma Hope Community.
He also began the street ministry, Nativity House, as a place of welcome and hospitality for people in Tacoma. As usual, he recruited great souls to surround him in this venture.
David took a sabbatical in the LaConner, WA area, selling real estate and growing a field of dahlia’s that were a sight to behold, when the growing season of the popular tulips and daffodils was over.
Throughout David’s life, he strongly valued family. His own, but also the families of those he loved. His desire for community helped create family wherever he went. In L’Arche, he always encouraged “the little acts of love and kindness” which helped form caring teams and homes where friendships could grow. He had a way of drawing people together, inviting folks from the loneliness of the margins to a deeper sense of connection, purpose, and joy.
He was a great listener, which inclined people to share their stories with him. And they were treated as sacred. David was the soul of encouragement as friends work through struggles. Often, he could be heard saying “I’m right WITH you. I’m right WITH you”. That made for many, a safe passage. And it must be said, “We’re still counting on that.”
He claimed a quiet confidence, never boastful or arrogant, and he believed that together we could make a difference. He was a man of faith and prayer and possibility. He lived a life woven with goodness and generosity. And all are better for having known him.
David’s passion for the poor and disenfranchised led him to work for Catholic Relief Services in Burundi, Kenya, Chad and Haiti. When CRS found it difficult to find staff for places in crisis, David said “I’ll go”. And he went. He’d stay as long as needed, providing basic care, learning about the culture of each new place and supporting the arts.
It was while working in Burundi and speaking the now familiar French language, that he met his wife, Gloria Sakubu, and finally had that family he longed for. As David would say “tout est grace”.
If you looked for the dominant values of David’s amazing life, you’d be following a true story of faith, family, and community. He lived with an uncanny sense of abundance. That there was more than enough to be shared, and he honored this with deep gratitude.
When he found something vital, he’d invite others up close to it. “Come and see” would be the invitation – “Come to L’Arche”, “Come to Tacoma”, “Come to Africa”! And many who took up his invitation found their life changed for the better, transformed even.
Whether in servant leadership or in his dahlia garden, he was always authentically himself. He was practiced in noticing growth, of the personal kind and in the natural world. And so much offered him happiness… the Eucharist, people blooming, plants sprouting, primroses that he taught came in “all colors of the spectrum“, new hybrids of dahlia’s that he’d put a name on, a table full of people to feed, horseradish and mayo, ice cream, a decent shirt from Value Village, a quirky poem, a tune he learned on the violin or piano, a sly smile from a nonverbal friend. Delights, all.
David is survived by his loving wife Gloria Sakubu Rothrock, their children; Michael Rothrock and Shima Rothrock–Beck and her husband Jaiden Beck and their twin babies, Janiya and Jenae. David was so proud of them all. He is also survived by his dear sister, Julie Kirk, and sister-in-law, Lolly Rothrock and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
Click the link for service details: https://www.gaffneyfuneralhome.com/obituaries/david-rothrock
