Samuel Kent Lumpe

1940 - 2016

Samuel Kent Lumpe

Sam K. Lumpe, 76, died of heart failure just before midnight on August 24, 2016 at Park Place assisted living in Reno. He had been hospitalized recently for heart and kidney issues.

Sam was born in Wilster, Germany during World War 2. His father was killed in the war. His widowed mother brought Sam and his older brothers, Gustav and Gary, to the United States in 1951. They immigrated to Whitestown, IN, near Indianapolis. Sam contracted polio the next year and had to use an iron lung to breathe. With the help of March of Dimes he regained his health. The following year, at age 12, he raised more money for March of Dimes in his community than anyone else. That spirit of giving stayed with Sam until the end. A man of modest means, he was a significant philanthropist to dozens of charities.

Sam became a naturalized American citizen in 1959 and graduated from Zionsville High School the same year. He then entered a journeyman apprentice program for sheet metal working.

Union politics were his central driving force. He moved to Reno for the building opportunities in 1979 and became an active member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 26. Sam was very engaged in electoral politics and in the Nevada AFLCIO as a representative of his union. In 1988 he registered more voters in Nevada than anyone else in the state and received an award from the Governor. He served as Secretary of the Democratic Party of Washoe County and then on the central committee of the Nevada state Democratic Party.

Sam retired in 2002 and became an avid volunteer. He was active with the Association of Retired Americans and continued to attend union conventions and demonstrations until a year ago. In 2012 Sam was inducted into the César Chávez Nevada Labor Hall of Fame. He was also honored by the Food Bank of Northern Nevada for his volunteer work.

Sam attended services at St Thomas Aquinas for 30 years. His favorite pastime was watching football on the big screens at CalNeva or Brickies Tavern.

His marriage out of high school to Nina Lovett ended in divorce but produced three children, Duane Lumpe (Indianapolis), Keith Mitchell (Indianapolis) and Lora Lumpe (Washington, DC). He is also survived by his brother, Gary Lumpe (Bedford, IN) and four grandchildren.

Sam will be privately inurned at Our Mother of Sorrows Cemetery, Reno. Cremation arrangements were entrusted to O'Brien-Rogers & Crosby Funeral Home, Reno.