A Funeral Mass for Samuel Torpey, age 26, will be held Friday, May 26, 2017 at 10 AM at the Rose Creek Longhouse in Worley, Idaho with Father Robert Erickson officiating.  Rosary will be held Thursday evening at 7 PM at the Rose Creek Longhouse.  Mr. Torpey died Sunday, May 21, 2017 near his rural Plummer, Idaho home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Samuel was born July 8, 1990 at Ventura, California to Ronald George Torpey and Veronica Keyonnie Torpey who met while serving in the United States Navy.  The family moved to the Plummer, Idaho area in 1991.  Samuel attended the DeSmet Tribal School, Plummer grade school and high school, and completed his senior year at Gonzaga Prep in Spokane.   Samuel later attended the University of Idaho in Moscow where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Ecology.

Samuel had worked for the Bureau of Land Management in Lander, Wyoming, and had also worked as a chef where he developed his love of cooking.  Samuel just started working for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe as an environmentalist.

Samuel was a member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, and enjoyed studying his family’s native cultures of both the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and the Navaho Tribe in Arizona.  He participated in the traditional gatherings of the Coeur d’Alene’s, and especially loved the Chicken Dance.  Samuel was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church at DeSmet, and danced at The Feast of Assumption.  He loved music, wrote some of his own songs, and played both the guitar and drums. He enjoyed beadwork and native arts and crafts.  As an environmentalist, he loved to study the native plants from the reservation. Samuel was never married.

Survivors include his parents, Ronald George and Veronica Torpey of Plummer, a sister, Tillie Torpey of Cusick, Washington, a brother, Ronald (Krista) Torpey III of Worley,Idaho; niece and nephews Jayda Torpey, Ronald Torpey IV, and Brody Torpey.

Kramer Funeral Home of Tekoa, Washington is caring for the family.

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