Francis Xavier Rockett, MD

Known as Dad, Pops, Pa, Dr. Rockett, Dr. Mr. Rockett, and Dr. Fran. Francis Xavier Rockett, M.D. died peacefully hours after all 25 members of his immediate family gathered at his Brookline home to celebrate their last Christmas with him.

Dr. Rockett, a man of great intellect and even greater heart, devoted his life to his family, faith, and patients. Born in Brighton, Massachusetts on May 25, 1931 to the late John F. And Agnes (Connor) Rockett, his love of animals and biology started on his family farm in Arlington and through his participation in his local 4-H club. He excelled as a student at Arlington Public Schools and earned full scholarships to Phillips Academy, Andover and Tufts University. After graduating Magna Cum Laude from Tufts, he earned his M.D. from Harvard Medical School.

At Boston City Hospital, he met fellow surgical resident, Barbara Payne, and just three weeks after their initial meeting, he said to her, “I don’t think the name Dr. Payne suits you, would you consider changing it to Dr. Rockett?” They remained devoted spouses during their 63 years of marriage. Fran worked alongside his ‘LOML’ (Love of my life) in the operating room, the medical community, and as outstanding parents and grandparents to their five adoring children and fifteen grandchildren.

Dr. Rockett was Chief Resident in Neurosurgery at Children’s Hospital, Boston and the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. He was famous not only for his outstanding surgical skill but also for the tremendous compassion he showed his patients. A patient shared the following story from his youth of how he had been hit by a car while walking with his babysitter, another practitioner wanted to sedate him in order to get him in and out of a CT-Scan. Recognizing that the young boy was both stable and very scared without his family around him, Dr. Rockett held his hand and consoled him until he fell asleep. Indeed, he was a consummate health advocate, which earned him the admiration of his patients and colleagues and the ire of numerous healthcare management companies.

He served as a Clinical Instructor in Neurosurgery at Tufts University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. As an enthusiastic Boston sports fan, he loved supporting his teams as a Neurosurgical Consultant for Boston College and Harvard University’s Department of Athletics and The Boston Red Sox.

He was a proud veteran of the U.S Navy, serving as a Lieutenant in the Navy’s Medical Corps. He was a member of the Neurosurgical Staffs of Children’s Hospital, Boston; Brigham & Women’s Hospital, New England Baptist Hospital, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, and Newton-Wellesley Hospital. He was Chief of Neurosurgery at Newton-Wellesley for over four decades and in 1995, was named the recipient of the George L. White Award, the highest designation for extraordinary devotion to Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

He participated in organized medicine at the local, state, and national level.  He was a member of the American Medical Society’s Brain Trust (Neurosciences Caucus). At the Massachusetts Medical Society, he served as the Chair of the Committee on Sports Medicine, Chair of the Board of Trustees, President of the Norfolk District Committee, and MMS President. He was recently given Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Norfolk District Society and Massachusetts Medical Society.

Fran was a stellar husband, father, grandfather, uncle and friend. Appropriately, Dr. Rockett was greatly intrigued with space and aeronautics, following NASA missions with rapt attention. He was a humble and gentle man, a devout Catholic, an avid bibliophile, a dedicated New England sports fan, a devotee of comedies and musicals and all-around trivia champion.

His gleaming smile and boisterous laugh will be missed by all who knew and loved him but we are comforted in knowing he has joined his beloved wife, Barbara, in eternal rest. He was also predeceased by his brothers Thomas J. and John F. Rockett Jr. and his wife Ann Rockett, his sister, Agnes Rockett-Bolduc and her husband Richard Bolduc. He is survived by his brother Richard and his wife Donna and sister-in-law Sarah. He leaves his four sons and one daughter: Francis X., Jr. and his wife Marianne, Peter and his wife Amy, Bill and his wife Maureen, Sean and his wife, Ronda, and Julie and her husband, Patrick; along with his grandchildren: Francis Thomas, Paul, Julia, Morgan, Catherine, MaryBeth, Emilie, Connor, Declan, Brin, Shane, Casey, Barbara, Ronan, and Emmett.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, January 3rd at 11:00 am at St. Ignatius of Loyola, 28 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA.  Burial will be in Forest Hills Cemetery, 95 Forest Hills Avenue, Boston, MA. Calling hours: Thursday, January 2nd from 3-7pm at Lehman, Reen & McNamara Funeral Home, 63 Chestnut Hill Avenue, Brighton, MA.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Francis X. Rockett, MD to Tufts University at Make a Gift to the Arts & Sciences Financial Aid Fund, or by check, payable to “Trustees of Tufts College.” In memo, please indicate donation is for the Arts & Sciences Financial Aid Fund in memory of Francis X. Rockett, MD.  Mail to: Tufts University, PO Box 3306, Boston, MA 02241-3306.  For directions and guest book please visit www.lehmanreen.com

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