Richard T. LaRocca, 84, of Hamilton, NJ, passed away on Friday, March 24, 2023 at Care One of Hamilton. Born in Englewood, NJ and raised in Fairview, NJ, Richard was a 1956 Graduate of Cliffside Park High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Army which would become his lifelong career, retiring in 1998 as a Stateside Commander Sargent Major of the NJ National Guard. He married his late wife, Valerie, in 1959 and she travelled with him in the U.S. Army for several years, eventually settling in Parsippany, NJ, where they resided until moving to Hamilton in 1974. He was a former member of St. Christopher Parish, Parsippany, and a member of St. Raphael’s Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton. He was a member of the Hamilton Elks Lodge # 2262, the Hamilton Twp. Patriotic Committee, the 112th Artillery Retiree Committee, the Ft. Dix Retiree Committee, the NJ National Guard Youth Camp, the American Legion, the NJ Militia Museum, the Sea Girt Museum and the Lawrence Military Museum. Son of the late James and Catherine Fideli LaRocca and husband for 53 years of the late Valerie Engel LaRocca, he is survived by his son and daughter-in-law Richard J. and Catherine LaRocca, his daughter Renee Avanzato, his grandchildren Samantha (Kevin) McCredie, Vanessa (Sam) Hamilton, Giovanni LaRocca and Bryan (Elizabeth) Sheldon and his great-grandchildren Patrick and RJ McCredie, Maclin Hamilton and Addison and Mazie Sheldon. Funeral service will begin at 10 AM on Thursday, March 30, 2023 from Kingston & Kemp Funeral Home, 260 White Horse Ave., Hamilton, NJ (KingstonandKemp.com). Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 AM at St. Raphael’s Church, 3500 S. Broad St., Hamilton, NJ. Interment with military honors will follow at Brig. Gen. Wm. C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 350 Province Line Rd., Wrightstown, NJ. Relatives and friends may call on Thursday from 9 to 10 AM at the funeral home. Due to cemetery regulations prohibiting flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Richard’s honor to the Hamilton Patriotic Committee at hamiltonpatcomm.org or the National Guard State Readiness Council at info@nationalguardsfrc.org.