Mark J Rote:
CLASS OF 1972
Thousand Oaks High SchoolClass of 1972
Thousand oaks, CA
West Chester University of PennsylvaniaClass of 1979
West chester, PA
Weathersfield Elementary SchoolClass of 1968
Thousand oaks, CA
Mark J's Story
Life
Still in great shape after 54 years! I still think I'm 34! Unfortunately, the body doesn't react like it did at 34 :-(
I was a NCBA college championship boxer while attending West Chester University of Pennsylvania, outside Philly, and have stayed in shape with shotokan karate through the years.
God, family and country are the most important things to me.
My wife and I have two wonderful adult children Erin and Jonathan, and three beautiful grand daughters, Isabella, Colette and Leilah (and hopefully more in the future).
We celebrated 28 years of marriage on July 05, 2008.
I surprised my wonderful wife Maria with 10 days on Maui, in Kaanapali, on our 25th anniversary back in 2005. We stayed at the Westin in Kaanapali just north of Lahaina. We had a fabulous time. I would rate it a close second to our honeymoon on St. Thomas USVI.
We have also enjoyed family vacations in the Carribean, on St. Thomas and St. John USVI. The best was 2 weeks on St. John with extended family in villas we rented on Great Cruz Bay.
Our daughter Erin and son-in-law Evan and two gorgeous grand daughters "Bella" and "Coco" live close to us in Highlands Ranch, Colorado outside Denver. We see the girls every day since I work from a home office.
Our son Jonathan has graduated from Cal State Northridge, after attending UNLV for 2 years. He is graduating with a B.A. in Poli Sci and plans to join the FBI, or CIA when he graduates. He is a patriot and very conservative like me.
I am a staunch Reagan Republican and love to debate politics. If you don't agree with my very conservative views and are a flaming liberal don't tell me! I can't stand cry baby liberals. As Michael Savage says, I believe liberalism is a mental disorder!
Second to my Savior Jesus Christ, my family means more to me than anything. My wonderful wife Maria is the most loving person I know. We adore our children Erin and Jonathan and have always tried to put them before us.
I was saved over 10 years ago when I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. Thank you Lord! It has changed my life to one of daily prayer, Bible study and giving my whole life over to God. He is my strength and comfort. There is nothing better than having a personal relationship with the LORD.
I am still a sinner, (like all of us) for we cannot be sinless as compared to God's perfect glory and majesty. But I dedicate all that I do to Him.
I work hard and play hard. I enjoy camping and fishing in the nearby Rocky mountains. I have also taken up skeet shooting since moving to Colorado and plan to hunt ducks and geese this season. I am also taking up mountain biking and will get back to skiing.
I still work out at the dojo twice a week and lift and run at the rec center twice a week. I haven't been able to maintain my fighting weight but I'm working on it ;-) I've got 10 lbs. of extra baggage - a lot of good eating and cabernet, to burn off.
We get to T.O. a couple of times a year to visit with my family. My parents, 3 brothers and one of my sisters all still live in the T.O. and Wood Ranch areas. My other sister lives with her husband and son in San Clemente. My brothers own their successful general contracting business in T.O. called Rote Brothers Construction (RBC). They build medical buildings in L.A. and Ventura counties, including other commercial buildings.
The Rote clan is very close and now extended with many nieces and nephews. We all gather regularly for holidays and birthdays. Our last Rote family gathering included my parents and all my brothers and sisters and their families, for 3 days of whitewater rafting on the American River in NorCal.
Maria and I also get to Philly regularly to visit with her huge Italian family. Maria's parents and brothers are all still in the West Chester area. Maria has many cousins and nieces and nephews all in the Philadelphia and south Jersey area.
Over all my life has been very good. I have been blessed beyond my desires. I...Expand for more
f I die tomorrow I will be a happy man with no regret
School
TOHS was blast for me. Playing football and baseball was a lot of fun and I made some good buddies over those 4 years. I wasn't much of a student, and instead focused on sports, goofing off, and T.O. parties. I got is some street fights at some of those parties too...Didn't we all?
I dated some wonderful girls and have since been told by some that I was "shy". I didn't think of myself as shy, but I guess I was with the pretty girls :-o
I've lost touch with Bob Mazziotti, Brian Rippy, Matt Hickle, John Kent, Brett Johnson, Rick Charpentier, and Gary Dawson. But, I have reconnected via e-mail with Frank Hobin and talked with Dave Beerman (thanks to Lisa Grillo!). Frank and his family are in Bakersfield, and Dave Beerman is living in Santa Barbara.
After my high school days, during my "Wastin' Time" days I enjoyed sailing with my dad and brothers on our 24 foot sloop "El Solaz" off the Channel Islands. We had great days sailing out to Anacapa and Santa Cruz islands, fishing, SCUBA diving, spear fishing and just enjoying the beautiful Pacific. We caught lobster, scallops and abalone and dove the kelp forests exploring the wonders of the deep. It's a whole different world.
I also started studying karate, jiu jitsu and kung fu at that time, which led to later serious study of shotokan karate and collegiate boxing at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.
I guess the Politically Correct way of describing those years is that I was "finding myself" while wandering aimlessly. The truth is, I was doing many things I now regret and was on the path to doom or destruction.
After 2 years of doing nothing productive I decided to head off to college. I chose to get outta town and go back east. I decided on West Chester University located outside Philadelphia. My grandmother, my father and my mother are all alumnus of West Chester University.
Thank God I cleaned up my act and left T.O. for the east coast!
Check out my college bio.
College
College at West Chester State outside Philadelphia was fantastic!
I met my wife Maria at WCSU and dated for 3 years. I joined the TKE Fraternity and lived in the frat house for 4 years. I lived with 25 frat brothers in a 3 story house that we owned on the edge of campus. They were very good times.
I got myself together at West Chester State (WCSU).
I boxed for WCSU in the NCBA collegiate ranks. I went to ECBA Eastern Championships my junior year held at the University of South Carolina, in Charlotte. Through 4 years of fighting I fought all the big schools including University of Pennsylvania, Penn State, Temple, Villanova, Univ. South Carolina, Drexel, UNLV, US Navy Academy at Annapolis, and US Army at West Point. Fantastic times! Lots of good fights! I learned quickly the fine art of how not to get punched and to land sledge-hammers in return.
I graduated with a Batchelors of Science (cum laude) in Criminal Justice, thinking I might follow in my dad's footsteps, since he is an ex-FBI Special Agent.
That didn't happen. After marrying Maria right out of college I decided I didn't want to dodge bullets for a living :-(
While at WCSU I gained lifelong friends that we still get together with on both coasts.
I was able to see all of the east coast from Boston to Florida and enjoyed a couple of spring breaks in Ft. Lauderdale and the Florida Keys. I did holidays with my aunts and uncles in Philadelphia, on Long Island and Harrisburg, PA.
My days at WCSU on the east coast were great. It was just what I needed to get away, clear my head and get my life on track.
I have many fond memories of my time at West Chester State University of Pennsylvania.
Military
Almost drafted in 1972! My number was close, but I eventually went off to college instead.
Sometimes I regret not going into the military to serve my country. I would have been a good soldier and leader.
I guess it just wasn't in God's plan for me.
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