Petrocy graduated in 1968 from Monroe High School, where he served as head drum major. He then graduated from Miami University and Xavier University. He retired in 2004 after 31 years in education.
He was a member of many bands, performing with Mafia of Music, Petrocy’s People, Turnstyle, Chequered Past, Encore at Americana, Nuclear Test Project, and the Avalons.
Petrocy and his wife of 31 years, Donna, met when he was hired as principal at Rosedale Elementary School and she was a first-grade teacher. At the time, she was going through a divorce and he was divorced, she said.
“God brought him there for me,” she said.
One night over drinks at a Middletown racquetball club they shared a kiss for the first time and Donna said “the world disappeared. That set the track for the rest of my life.”
Not wanting to work in the same school as Petrocy, she transferred to Monroe Elementary. She retired in 2002.
They traveled together to a principal’s conference in San Francisco. Getting married was on the agenda, but toward the end of the week, they realized they hadn’t toured Alcatraz Island that was converted into a federal prison, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, in 1934.
So they visited the major tourist attraction and got married when they returned home.
“The happiest moment of my life,” Petrocy, 75, said about her wedding day. “It was a glorious marriage.”
Besides his wife, Petrocy is survived by a son, Joseph W. (wife, Dr. Pamela) Petrocy; grandson, Vladimir Ivan Petrocy; stepson, Brian Thomas Lewis; step-grandchildren, Emily Jean Lewis and Joseph Daniel Stanichar; his sister, Carolyn Margaret Rachel “Cam” (husband, Larry) Hammond; niece, Laura (husband, Brandon) Howar; and nephew, Benjamin (wife, Kim) Hammond; and the mother of his son, Joan Regensburg.
Funeral services will be at 5 pm Wednesday at the Breitenbach Anderson Funeral Home with the Rev. Dan Flory officiating. Visitation will be from 3-5 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home.
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