Roll Call Tribute

Rocky Setiawan '20
January 18, 1986 - April 19, 2021

Rocky Setiawan, 35 years old, passed away after a year of battle with bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma). He peacefully passed away with his mother on his side in his birth town, Semarang, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia, at 06:30 am on Monday, April 19th, 2021.

Rocky was born on January 18th, 1986, to Jo Giok Lian (mother) in Semarang. After graduating from high school, he went to one of the reputable universities in Indonesia, Universitas Diponegoro, studying Economics and Development. After about three years of attending this university, he decided to leave and sacrifice his time to serve as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, devoted his time to help others for two years.

He received his bachelor's degree in 2013 from Brigham Young University - Hawaii, majoring in Marketing with a minor in Economics. He had managed and led various projects in a couple of different multinational companies before pursuing a master of science degree in his dream school, Texas A&M University, focusing on Agricultural Economics. He has been dreaming of attending Texas A&M University since he graduated from high school, and he worked hard to be accepted in 2019. During his study at Texas A&M University, he worked on a research project to develop a comprehensive marketing plan to provide a one-year sales forecast based on the marketing strategy with additional four years worth of sales projections.

Anyone who knew Rocky knew him as a brilliant and humble person. He is also known as a person who will not miss any matches on his favorite soccer team. He loved to make others smile and will not hesitate to offer help to others in need. He always spent time caring for and spread light to others.

This past year was a difficult and painful time for him. He felt brief and light reoccurring nauseous from February last year until the beginning of April, where he stayed in a hospital after having a high fever. During this stay, he was diagnosed with bile duck cancer which has been spreading to his liver and intestine. Though he was shocked by the news, he kept a positive attitude and worked hard to finish his master's degree. He kept work on his research, hoping that it can be beneficial for others. He kept his hope high and underwent numerous painful medical procedures. He went back to his home country, Indonesia, last December to stay close to his mother. He couldn't go back to his hometown but stayed in Jakarta to continue his cancer treatment. During this time, he kept working on his thesis and research project even when his condition was worsening. He constantly felt pain throughout his whole body but he never complained. On Tuesday, April 13th, 2021, he made peace with his condition and surrender his will to his God to whom he has faith. He then, accompanied by his mother and some medical staff, went back to his birth town to spent his last moment peacefully with his families.

Now, Rocky has been freed from pain and will be always remembered by his friends and families. He will be always missed more than words can say but his families know that this is for his best.