Ervin Rokke Obituary

Rokke
Ervin Jerome
Rokke
December 12, 1939
September 5, 2025

On 12 December 1939, Ervin Jerome Rokke was born in Warren, Minnesota. Born to Edwin and Joan Rokke, Erv was raised on the solid foundation of a good Christian family in small town America. The oldest of four children, Erv quickly established a pattern of excellence that propelled him through a lifetime of distinguished achievements.
After graduating in 1957 as the valedictorian of his Warren High School class, he attended St. Olaf college for one very important year. There, he met Miss Pamela Mae Patterson, who four years later would become Mrs. Pamela Patterson Rokke. Having met the love of his life, Erv departed St. Olaf to join the Air Force Academy, "Redtag" class of 1962. His four years as an Air Force Academy cadet reinforced the values of hard work, fairness, and ethics he learned growing up in a farm town in Minnesota and launched a military career that enabled him to share those qualities around the world.
The day Erv graduated from the Air Force Academy, he and Pam got married and began an adventure that would last more than 63 years. Recognizing his keen intellect, the Air Force sent Erv to Harvard University where he earned both a masters and doctorate degree in international relations. In return, Erv spent a combined total of 15 years as a professor at the Air Force Academy. During those years he rose from a classroom instructor teaching political science, to eventually overseeing the entire academic program of the Air Force Academy as its Dean of Faculty. He was the first Air Force Academy graduate to be appointed as dean, and in recognition of his impact on the Academy, Erv was honored by its alumni in 2007 as one of its Distinguished Graduates.
Between assignments at the Air Force Academy, Erv put his academic knowledge to practical use, serving in intelligence assignments all over the world. During his career, he enjoyed assignments in Japan, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and Germany. With a doctorate in international relations and an inherent skill for diplomacy, Erv was a perfect fit for the delicate role of advancing US military policy in countries of both friends and foes. As the Defense Attaché to the Soviet Union during its final years of existence, Erv (often accompanied by Pam), deftly cracked open doors into the Soviet war machine that had been closed tight for decades, ensuring that as the Iron Curtain lifted, the surprises on both sides would be few. As his achievements accumulated, he continued to be selected for key leadership roles, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant General, and leading both Air Force and joint military intelligence agencies. Erv concluded his distinguished military career as the president of the nation's top military educational institute, the National Defense University. Thirty-nine years after starting his military career as an Air Force Academy cadet, Erv retired as a Lieutenant General from the Air Force in 1997.
Fortunately, Erv was still eager to accept new challenges and ready to continue the path of success that had become the hallmark of his life. After hanging up his uniform, he was honored to assume the role of president of Moravian College and the Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Now known as Moravian University, it is one of the nation's oldest universities and was a perfect fit for Erv's drive and vision. He served as its president for almost ten years and on his departure was heralded by its board of directors as one of their most successful presidents in the 264 year history of the school.
After leaving Moravian, Erv brought his professional career full circle and returned to Colorado Springs and his beloved Air Force Academy. Now a civilian, Erv served as the first president of the USAFA Endowment, was selected to hold the Superintendent's Chair for Character and Leadership Development, and in the last months of his life, was instrumental in forming the Air Force Academy's new Institute for Future Conflict.
It must be said that none of what Erv accomplished in his life would have been possible without the influence of his parents and sisters, and perhaps most importantly, the 63 years of dedicated partnership with his wife, Pam. Together, they travelled the world, living in many different countries and continents.They served as a team during very challenging times spanning the Vietnam War, the Cold War and the Gulf War, and that teamwork continued while Erv was a college president. But perhaps the most complex and important job any person can have is raising their children. Once again, Pam and Erv worked together as a team to raise two happy, healthy kids who each raised two happy and healthy grandchildren. It should be no surprise that the legacy Erv leaves in his professional life is matched by the legacy he leaves in his personal life, as a husband, a father and a grandfather.
Erv was diagnosed in 2017 with a progressive neurological disease called inclusion body myositis. It has no cure and slowly destroys the muscles of the body it inhabits. He was also a cancer survivor and learned in his last weeks that the cancer had returned with a vengeance. For the past eight years, Erv faced his many health challenges with characteristic courage, determination, and good humor. He rarely let it slow him down. When his time came, he was as prepared as a person can be, and he was ready.
Those who knew him will remember him as a man of principle and integrity. A man dedicated to the only woman he ever loved, who was at his side when he passed away. A man devoted to his children and grandchildren. And a man who served God and his country to his last days. Erv is survived by his wife Pam Rokke, daughter Lisa Belt and her husband Cliff, son Eric Rokke and his wife Susan, grandchildren Ethan Rokke and his wife Diana, Anna Beach and her husband Jackson, and Luke and Sean Belt.
There will be two services on 8 October 2025 to honor Erv's life and passing. The first will take place at 9:30am at the United States Air Force Academy cemetery. Because of security measures currently enforced on the Air Force Academy, those who would like to attend and do not have a military ID card, should contact Pam directly, no later than 6 October.
The second service will take place at 11:00am at First Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs. Following the service at the church, there will be a reception with refreshments.
If you cannot attend either service but would like to view the church service, it will be live-streamed on YouTube. The service can be viewed by entering "First Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Ervin Rokke" into the YouTube search function just prior to the start of the service, or anytime after.