Colin M. Rockwood of Westford, passed away unexpectedly on March 28, 2022 at the tender age of 26.
In 1996 Colin was born into the loving home of Richard F. and Mary E. (Nackley) Rockwood to join his beloved big brother John.
Colin grew up in Westford and attended school in the Westford Public School system where he made lifelong friends and touched the lives of teachers, fellow students, and all those who were fortunate enough to cross his path.
Colin loved camping in New Hampshire with family and friends. He felt at home sitting around the campfire with those he loved, toasting s’mores, telling stories, and sharing laughs.
After many years of adventures with his friends in scouting, Colin achieved the highest rank a Boy Scout can attain, Eagle Scout with a Golden Palm.
Trains were one of his lifelong passions. He loved visiting the Hartmann Model Train Museum in New Hampshire and became lifelong friends with Roger and Nellie Hartmann. Colin’s first job was building and programming model trains in Lowell with Stephan Lamb Associates. He assisted in creating many train layouts over the years including one built for the Canon headquarters in California and a layout made for Gulliver’s Gate located in Times Square in New York City. After several years of helping build train layouts with other train enthusiasts, Colin designed and built his own model train layout.
While attending college, Colin continued working part time building train layouts. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from UMass Lowell in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering and a minor in Robotics. Colin was a member of IEEE, and Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society of IEEE.
After college, Colin worked for Collins Aerospace in Westford as a Software Engineer.
After Collins Aerospace, Colin was hired by Motional, a startup company in Boston’s Seaport District, as a software engineer. He was a member of a team developing the optics required for self-driving vehicles.
Colin recently moved into his first apartment in South Boston after living with his brother for a short time. He was very happy and proud of his apartment and kept it organized and extremely clean. He was exploring and learning to navigate the city. This brought him joy and happiness which he shared with his friends and family.
Beloved son of Richard F. and Mary E. (Nackley) Rockwood of Westford. Loving brother of John F. Rockwood. Nephew of Johanna and Jim Hayes, Susan Layman, David Nackley, Diana Nackley, Brahm and Susan Rockwood, John and Suzanne Rockwood. Cousin of Caroline and Jay, Jared, Connor, Hayden and Blair, Layla and Delara, Keith and Annie.
Visiting hours will be held at the George F. Doherty & Sons Wilson-Cannon Funeral Home, 456 High St., Dedham, on Friday, April 8 from 4-8pm. A funeral service will be held in the funeral home on Saturday, April 9 at 12 noon. Relatives and friends are welcome to attend. Interment will follow in Mount Benedict Cemetery, 409 Corey St., West Roxbury.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in Colin’s memory to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 199 Water St., 11th Floor, New York, NY 10038 or supporting.afsp.org/
We ask you to remember Colin as a genuine, smart, caring, loving person who was always willing to help others in every way he could.