ED ROCHETTE (1927-2018)

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V21 2018 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 21, Number 4, January 28, 2018, Article 3

Former ANA President and Executive Director Edward C. Rochette, 90, died on January 18 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he lived most of his life. He was born on February 17, 1927, in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Edward Rochette, a physician, and Lilia A. (Viau) Rochette, both of whom died before Ed Jr. reached adulthood.

Friends and family remember Rochette’s sparkling wit, creative spirit, astute mind, and strong ethical compass, which he relied upon to guide his life and family. He developed his love for numismatics as a youngster, when he regularly searched the cash drawer at his grandfather's diner for collectible coins. He served as an electrician in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and attended Clark University in Worcester and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Rochette began his professional numismatic career as a cartoonist and editor for Numismatic News, printed in lola, Wisconsin, by Krause Publications. Later, he served the company as executive editor. In 1966 Rochette left Iola to become editor of The Numismatist, the Association’s official journal. As editor, Ed had a front-row seat for the construction of the new ANA headquarters, which began on the Colorado College campus about the same time he (and later his family) moved to town. The March 1967 issue of The Numismatist was the first to roll off the presses under his leadership.

He sat in the editor’s chair until 1972, when he was tapped to serve as ANA executive vice president. The Association prospered in its new home, but within 13 years it began to experience growing pains. Rochette was at the helm when a drive was launched in 1980 to finance a second-story addition that would expand the museum, library and staff offices. He shepherded the construction, keeping an eye on the progress and making sure all went according to plan. On June 10, 1982, he was on hand to welcome guests and dignitaries to the official dedication.

Rochette retired as executive vice president in 1986, and in 1987 was elected to the ANA Board of Governors, going on to serve as vice president in 1989-91 and president in 1991-93. In the years that followed, ANA museum and library visitation increased markedly, and the facility was sorely in need of a facelift. In 1998, Rochette was called out of retirement to serve as ANA executive director, and in 2000 he spearheaded and oversaw a second headquarters renovation.

Rochette stepped down as executive director in July 2003. Thanks to a $500,000 contribution from an anonymous donor and his longtime friend, mentor and employer Chester Krause, the ANA Money Museum was renamed in his honor in 2005. Two years later, Rochette ran successfully for the ANA Board, serving a term as governor .

Rochette devoted his long career to sharing the many fascinating stories behind coins and medals. In 2006 he told COINage magazine, "I've never gone out and tried to corner a market or buy something because it was rare. I'd buy it because I could write a story about it."

Rochette was a prolific and popular author, penning the monthly “Other Side of the Coin” column for The Numismatist for two decades. He wrote a weekly coin column that was nationally syndicated by the Los Angeles Times, and contributed a monthly column to COINage. He published books on three favorite topics: Medallic Portraits of John F. Kennedy (1966), Making Money: Rogues and Rascals Who Made Their Own (1986) and The Romance of Coin Collecting (1991).

In the late 1960s, Rochette collaborated with Lt. Col. Adna G. Wilde Jr., then ANA executive director, to introduce the week-long ANA Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs. He also was instrumental in developing a numismatic exhibit for the International Olympic Committee's museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, and served as a numismatic consultant to the U.S. Olympic Committee and the U.S. Air Force Academy.

In 1987 he was general chairman of the 50th Anniversary Congress and Exhibition of the Fédération Internationale de la Médaille (FIDEM), a global organization of medallic artists. The event was hosted by the American Numismatic Association, marking the first time FIDEM had convened in the United States.

Collaborative and congenial, Rochette made friends easily and cultivated relationships that benefited the ANA. In 1977, he secured a bequest from ANA life member Kenneth Keith that remains a key financial asset, securing the Association’s future.

Rochette has received many ANA accolades, including the Medal of Merit (1972), Farran Zerbe Memorial Award for Distinguished Service (1987), Glenn Smedley Memorial Award (1993), Lifetime Achievement Award (1999), Burnett Anderson Memorial Award for Excellence in Numismatic Writing (2003, presented jointly by the ANA, American Numismatic Society and the Numismatic Literary Guild), and Numismatist of the Year (2003). He was the second recipient of the Numismatic Literary Guild’s prestigious Clemy Award (1969), and was named a Numismatic Ambassador by Numismatic News (1986). In 2000, he was inducted into the Numismatic Hall of Fame at the ANA’s Colorado Springs headquarters.

Says author and ANA Past President Q. David Bowers, “Next to the Association’s founder George F. Heath, no one has done more for the ANA than Ed Rochette.

Rochette is survived by his wife of 40 years, Mary Ann; three sons (Edward, Paul and Philip) by his first wife, Faye (who died in 1977); four stepchildren (Joseph, Michael, Paul and Susan); 14 grandchildren; and 7 great-grandchildren. Donations in his memory can be made to New Century Hospice, 6270 Lehman Dr., Suite 150, Colorado Springs, CO 80918.

Another excellent numismatist gone!

Ed Rochette’s contributions to the welfare of the American Numismatic Association and our hobby community, in my opinion, were seminal and probably incalculable in importance over the more than half century of his active involvement.

Their range stretched from the “Numismapest” cartoon series he crafted and inaugurated in the July 5, 1954 edition of Numismatic News, through and beyond his return to serve on the ANA board (2007-2009) in its most recent time of crisis.

Very creative as a cartoonist and writer, Ed was truly in his element when he discovered remote ties to numismatics. Much as a novelist, he could tie the known facts into a neat informative, entertaining and enjoyable package. Likewise, as he showed in his pioneering 1966 Medallic Portraits of John F. Kennedy reference, he was equally adept at digging out subject materials and the associated facts.

At the ANA Ed Rochette, again, in my opinion, contributed greater dedication to the organization, and quite possibly to the welfare of our hobby community, than any other person in its history, perhaps inclusive of founder Dr. George F. Heath. He variously over time pulled the ANA up by its bootstraps as editor, executive director, board member and president. Those accomplishments are legion.

To read the complete article, see:
Ed Rochette gave selfless service (http://www.numismaticnews.net/article/ed-rochette-gave-selfless-service

News arrived yesterday of the death of Edward C. Rochette on Jan. 18 at the age of 90.

He had shocked the community by painting his house a New England red. It is gorgeous. It is still that color.

But in Iola in the early 1960s, it had just not been done before, and it was called “barn red.” Tut tut tut. And to what had been the house of a judge no less.

To read the complete article, see:
Unforgettable Ed Rochette has died (http://www.numismaticnews.net/buzz/unforgettable-ed-rochette-died)

After the war he finished high school, attended Washington University in St. Louis, "got really interested in coins" and joined the Missouri Numismatic Society. He landed his first "publishing" job, if you can call it that, with a company in St. Louis that manufactured Christmas and other wrapping paper.

"I was in the composing room. I did everything from typesetting to making the printing plates. I also worked in the art department a little bit. That’s where I started cartooning."

It was his cartooning that first got the attention of Krause, who had just started publishing the weekly Numismatic News. It was "primarily an advertising sheet with a few bits of club news" with "all advertising on the front page," Rochette said. "I wrote Chet and said, ‘You ought to dress up the front page with a cartoon." And so he said, ‘Send one.’ So that’s how I got started with Chet."

Called "Numispest," the cartoon "was about a coin collector," Rochette said. "I think the very first one was a guy standing there cleaning his coins, and the acid was dripping down, eating his pant leg, and somebody was saying, ‘I think it’s a little too strong for coins.’"

Among other things, Edward Rochette will be remembered for his book on John F. Kennedy medals. I found his book useful for cataloging for years. It remained the standard work on the subject for fifty years. It is unfortunate he did not keep this popular collecting specialty book up-to-date. In 2014 the field had grown, when Bill Rice published his catalog of Kennedy items, there were more than 8,500 varieties.

Ed liked to travel. Once he became executive director of ANA this offered him the opportunity to travel the world. He represented American numismatics everywhere he went. He enjoyed the political activities in the field.

We remained friends for a lifetime, including the time when he was editor of Numismatic News, and I was editor of Coin World, friendly competitors. So here’s my tribute to a friend. Rest in Peace.

CoinWeek
If you are now or ever have been a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) in the last 50 years, it’s because a man named Ed Rochette devoted a large portion of his professional life to its success. His decades of work for the organization earned him the nickname “Mr. ANA”.

During his tenure on the Board, Rochette oversaw the expansion of the ANA Money Museum and Numismatic Library in Colorado Springs, the establishment of the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Gallery of United States Gold Coins, and a revamping of The Numismatist. He is also responsible for launching the successful ANA Summer Seminars, a numismatic experience for which a generation (and then some) of budding numismatists are forever grateful.

A Memory of Ed Rochette The last time I saw Ed Rochette was in June of 2013 at a meeting of the Henderson Supper Club in Colorado Springs. Ed was one of three past presidents of the ANA in attendance and sat to my left.

Ed’s cognitive skills were already somewhat diminished and he could no longer drive to these meetings. Other members were happy to provide a ride to the monthly dinner.

I don’t recall having much of a conversation with Ed. At one point he stared at his water glass and commented that he saw the face of a cat in the glass. I moved to look from his point of view. The reflection of overhead lights on the side of the glass did indeed look like the face of a cat.

Although he may have missed some of the conversation at the rest of the table, Ed was able to see something in the glass that the rest of us would have missed.

It is sad to see such a bright light in numismatics fade away in his declining years. That light has now gone out. Those whose path was illuminated by Ed in the past should appreciate his memory.