Ex-Oldsmar leader, Mike Rockwell dies

Mr. Rockwell was a council member from 1993 to 1997 who prefered listening to talking.

By RICHARD DANIELSON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published November 9, 2002

OLDSMAR -- Former Oldsmar City Council member John Michael "Mike" Rockwell died Thursday (Nov. 7, 2002) at home under the care of the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast. He was 50.

A council member from 1993 to 1997, Mr. Rockwell could speak plainly about right and wrong, and how the town had changed during his lifetime.

Generally, though, he preferred to hear others out and once was described by a newspaper columnist as the council's "quietest member." In his last campaign for office, he said that, if elected, he would not be "saying a whole lot, (but) listening, researching and not talking just to hear myself talk."

"Mike was a very caring individual," said Mayor Jerry Beverland, who appointed Mr. Rockwell vice mayor in the mid 1990s. "He cared about the citizens. He was very careful before he voted. . . . He was the kind of guy you really wanted to serve with because of his attitude and because he was open-minded."

Mr. Rockwell was born in Dunedin and was a lifelong Oldsmar resident. He was a member of the committee that planned, designed and raised funds for Friendship Playground and organized the first Celebrate Oldsmar festival. As a council member, he was Oldsmar's representative on the Pinellas Planning Council and served on the city's Ordinance Review Committee.

He worked in maintenance at the Oldsmar Flea Market and over the years had worked in metal fabrication, welding, carpentry, elevator construction and as a musician. He was a member of Community United Methodist Church of Oldsmar and North Bay Moose Lodge 2373, Oldsmar.

Survivors include his wife of 23 years, Mary L.; two daughters, Dawn Rockwell, Holiday, and Jennifer Rockwell, Oldsmar; his parents, John "Rocky" and Joyce Rockwell, Oldsmar; a sister, Janet Chapman, Odessa; and a granddaughter, Jordyn Noel, Holiday. Holloway Funeral Home of Oldsmar is handling funeral arrangements. A memorial service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Community United Methodist Church.

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