Roque "Rocky" Abalsamo: Known for Staying by Wife's Gravesite in West Roxbury

A Jamaica Plain man who was known for keeping a regular vigil at his wife's gravesite at St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury has died at the age of 97, according to the Boston Globe this week. 

Roque "Rocky" Abalsamo, who died on Jan. 22 at Stonehedge Healthcare Center in West Roxbury, spent nearly every day at the West Roxbury gravesite of Julia "Julita" Echeverria Abalsamo, his wife of 55 years who died in 1993, and would sit through rain, snow, heat and cold, according to the Globe. For many years after his wife of 55 years died in 1993, he spent every day by her side at St.  

A Globe story from 2000 that profiled Abalsamo put him in a bit of a spotlight, having been picked up by the New York Times Magazine, NPR and other news outlets across the globe, according to the report. 

To read the full story, visit The Boston Globe.