Mr. Rocky Richard Stokes, 72, of Wilmington Island, passed away on Saturday, November 5, 2022 at Hospice Savannah.

Rocky was born in Savannah, GA and had lived on Wilmington Island for the past 40 years.  Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Diane Carter Stokes; daughter and son-in-law, Danielle Stokes Hobbs (Chris); grandsons, Carter, Reed, and Burke Hobbs; sister, Delores Owens (Herbert); sisters-in-law, Cynthia Santos, Marilyn Dixon, Brenda Waters (Billy), and Cindy Stokes, as well as a number of nieces and nephews.

He was a 1967 graduate of Groves High School and served seven years in the GA Air National Guard – 165 ^th .  He was a member of the First Christian Church on Victory Drive and enjoyed fishing and golfing.  He enjoyed spending time at his vacation home in Satsuma, FL with his fishing buddies, and later after retirement, with his wife.  He enjoyed teaching his grandsons to make pancakes and to fry bacon.  He was employed at Gulfstream from 1968 until his retirement in 2014.  He retired as the Senior Government Contracts Manager and had traveled to Germany, Israel, and Turkey, among other places with the company.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John Rufus Stokes and Laura Oeater Sowell Stokes, his brother, William Stokes, sisters-in-law, Berta Lee Cowart (Douglas), Eloise Love (Lonnie), and Billie Dale Dyer (Donald), and brothers-in-law, Efrain Santos and Ted Dixon.

The visitation will be on Tuesday, November 8, 2022 from 6 until 8 p.m. at the funeral home.

The funeral to honor Rocky's life will be on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 11 a.m. in the chapel of the funeral home.  Dr. Rusty J. Sowell of Providence Baptist Church in Opelika, AL and Pastor Wilma Garing of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Garden City, GA will officiate.  The pallbearers will be Jeff Smith, Clay Anderson, Jason Shellenberger, Mike Dyer, Kelvin Lewis, and David Oliver.  The burial will follow at Northside Cemetery in Pembroke, GA.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be given to the American Cancer Society, cancer.org, or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, stjude.org, or Wounded Warrior Project, support.woundedwarriorproject.org.

Thomas C. Strickland & Sons Funeral Homes – WEST CHATHAM CHAPEL – 901 W. Hwy. 80 – Pooler, GA (912) 748-2444