The public servant went to work at the courthouse fresh out of Refugio High School in March 1965, when the building was not air conditioned, screen doors separated the offices from the main hallway, office computers were still futuristic, and an unspoken, unwritten, but understood rule excluded Hispanics from holding elected office.
A trailblazer, Rocha is the first Hispanic female to be elected to a county position, paving the way for other qualified Hispanic women. Since being elected, Rocha has received a full vote of confidence. She has never had an opponent.
“Attitudes are different now than when I started back in the ’60s,” Rocha says. “If I helped other Hispanic women, I’m proud of that. I’m happy that the office is now modernized. I’m thankful to have been able to work with many fine people through the years.”
The native-born Refugian went to work for Edith Buckley. After Buckley’s retirement, Jim Wales was appointed as interim tax assessor/collector until the next election. Three women from the office ran for the office, the late Betty Kret, the late Margie Gregorczyk and Rocha. Gregorczyk was elected, Kret was named chief appraiser of the newly formed appraisal district and Rocha was selected as Gregorczyk’s chief deputy. She’s seen six county judges come and go during her tenure.
She laughs that she was the youngest employee when she started and now she perhaps is the oldest.
“When I first started, work was seasonal and we didn’t have separate desks,” Rocha says. “We had a large table that we all worked around and we used calculators to figure the taxes. We typed the tax rolls on a typewriter with a very large carriage and used sheets and sheets of carbon paper. Correcting mistakes was so difficult, it made us very careful to avoid making errors.”
The retiring official says the years have flown by and she never expected to stay so long. Rocha looked upon her new job as an interim position to earn money for college. Her sister was already enrolled at Our Lady of the Lake University and her mother, Esther Govella, a longtime Refugio ISD employee, could ill afford to send two daughters to the university at the same time.
“I thought I wanted to become a nurse,” she says. “My mother believes in education so that was my goal. Mother never wanted her children to have to work as hard as she had to.”
As her knowledge in the office grew, so did her dedication to the work.
“I love this small town,” she said. “I like going down the street and knowing everybody. Refugio is like a big family; when you need help, someone is always there to help.”
Some things she misses. In the old days, the employees took coffee breaks at one of the two former nearby drugstores. In those days, the downtown area was booming. The drugstores have closed and there’s no longer a coffee shop in town. But Rocha is a people person so she looks forward to volunteer work. Prompting her decision to retire is her 92-year-old mother’s battle with cancer that began in 2004.
“She’s my best friend,” Rocha says. “I’m thankful I have my health and can look after her. I also want to do some volunteer work and I wouldn’t mind having a part-time job. I can’t really see myself not being busy or watching television. I’ve always been a busy person.”
In times of better health, Rocha and her mother traveled abroad together to Rome, Spain, the Holy Land and other places. For now, she will spend most of her time enjoying her mother’s company and making her comfortable.
“I always wanted to be a nurse,” she says. “I guess that desire will be put to good use now.”
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