As the youngest of Manuel and Ann Rocha’s five children, Ray learned early on how to take care of himself and everyone around him. When his mother started losing her eyesight, Ray learned how to cook and balance bank statements.  “I loved to go shopping with him because he was very patient with me,” she said.

Ray excelled both athletically and academically in both high school and college. At Melrose High School, he was an honor student in the class of 1990 who played football and ran track.  Ray played wide receiver at Brown University while majoring in Business Administration. At Brown, he found a community through football and his brothers in the Delta Tau fraternity. He graduated from Brown in 1995.

Ray was known for his outgoing personality and sense of humor as well as his dedication to his family and many friends. Becoming friends with Ray meant that you became part of his large family.  He loved planning trips and parties that brought together his friends from Melrose, Brown, and other adventures. He enjoyed a good prank and a silly costume.

Ray was not afraid to leave his mark. If he found a calendar in your house, he would mark March 27^th as “Ray Day.” He was also known for writing these two words wherever he could – unattended computer screens, notebooks, or in wet concrete.  At Brown University, “Ray Lives” is etched in the concrete on Angel Street in Providence.

On September 11, 2001, Ray was working as a bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald on the 105^th floor of One World Trade Center. He had moved to NYC with his girlfriend just the month before, and according to his mother, he was loving the city and the intensity of his new job.

When his mother remembered her youngest child, she remembered his kindness. He had an unforgettable smile. One measure of his friendliness was that he had gone to 28 weddings in the previous 3 years.  “He put a lot into his 29 years” his mother, Ann Rocha said. “He never moaned or groaned. Every day was a new day, and he accepted new challenges.”

In 2002, Melrose High School retired Ray’s football number (17), and in 2007, the Friends of Melrose Football unveiled the replica of his jersey that is mounted at the Middle School, overlooking the football field.

A NATION CHALLENGED: THE VICTIMS; A Last Glimpse of Disaster, a Last Telephone Call, a Last Kiss for the Children.” The New York Times, 6 Dec. 2001, nytimes.com.

“Everyone Raymond J. Rocha met, it seemed, became part of his large family, and he was constantly in touch. His girlfriend counted 28 weddings they went to in three years. Even his ex- girlfriends came to his sister’s wedding or his annual ski trip, where Mr. Rocha bought everyone walkie-talkies because cellphones would not work on the mountain. A prankster, he would leave rubber snakes in people’s beds. At a friend’s birthday party, he would wear a silly costume.

But he would also bake a beautiful cake. The youngest of five and a new bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, Mr. Rocha was cooking and balancing bank statements at an early age, in part because his mother, Ann Rocha, was losing her sight. “I loved to go shopping with him because he was very patient with me,” she said. “He would read me every ingredient.”

It was easy to tell when Mr. Rocha had been around. People would find that someone had marked March 27 on their calendars “Ray Day.” Plans were already underway for next Ray Day, when Mr. Rocha would have turned 30.”