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John was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey. He attended St. Peter’s Prep and then earned a B.S. in English from St. Peter’s College, where he was also enrolled in the ROTC program. Upon graduation in 1952 he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marines. He did most of his training at Quantico in Virginia and following this was stationed in California where he served as an embarkation officer, loading large transport ships, many of which were supporting the Korean War effort. He also spent a brief time in Alaska accompanying some military supplies that were shipped from the West Coast. Lt. Rochford was honorably discharged in 1954 and returned to the East Coast, starting his sales career at Johnson & Johnson before becoming a senior executive at Maritz, a sales motivation company. He retired in 1998.

In 1959, John married Lorraine Loguidice and they raised a son, John and a daughter, Robin. They initially lived in Bayonne before moving to Westfield in 1964. John was always active in sports, having played basketball in high school and college. In his sales capacity, his employers encouraged him to entertain clients and play golf. In golf he found a personal passion for the game but more importantly was driven to develop programs to support caddies and advance their educational opportunities. He was involved with the New Jersey State Golf Association (NJSGA) and served on the Board of the Caddie Scholarship Foundation of the NJSGA. John received lifetime achievement awards from both the NJSGA and Echo Lake Country Club for his volunteer efforts.

John was always glad to have been able to serve his country and was indeed a Proud Marine. Throughout his life he gave everything he had to help those around him.