Tributes

Salvatore (Sam) Rachele II was born 6th of 11 children in Spring Glen Utah on January 24, 1924 to parents Salvatore Rachele and Rosina Marchese Rachele, who migrated from Calabria Italy. He died Thursday, April 27, 2023 at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, Oregon at the age of 99. He had been living in and around Corvallis for the past 60 years. Growing up, Sam lived in Helper Utah and nearby towns and then moved to Salt Lake City. In 1948 he met Lillian Manville, who had moved there from New Hampshire. They started their family a few years later, in 1955. They moved around a bit, but eventually settled in Corvallis, OR in 1963, where he later got his Masters degree in Science Education and a job teaching Mathematics at Oregon State University. While living in Corvallis, he developed an interest in organic farming. He raised figs and other fruits and vegetables for his family and sold them at local markets such as the First Alternative Food Coop of Corvallis, of which he was a founding member. Prior to Oregon, he had worked as a hair stylist in SLC, mined manganese and gold in Montana, prospected for uranium in Utah and Wyoming, and taught a variety of grade school and high school classes, including Chemistry and Physics, in Montana and California. He also coached the Westby Montana High School basketball team. He continued his interest in geology after moving to Corvallis, making numerous trips with his family to the deserts of Utah to search for rocks and fossils and hunt for the elusive dinosaur skeleton he had discovered many years ago while hiking in the San Rafael Swell. Sam is survived by Lillian Rachele and their 4 children Salvatore (Sal) Rachele III (Mara), Rainard Rachele, Ronni Rachele (Gary), and Rollin Rachele (Jude), grandchildren Angela Rachele, Mia Rodecap (Nathan), Julian Rachele, Micco Rachele, and twins Amber and Jasmine Rachele, great grandchildren Benjamin Rodecap, Joanna Rodecap, April Swigart (Carl) and children, Lily Finn, and Junior Montgomery, and long-time companion/friend Mary Stuart and her daughter Janna. He is also survived by his sister Rosie Gillespie and numerous nephews, nieces, and friends. Please share your thoughts and memories for the family at www.mchenryfuneralhome.com.

Tributes

Salvatore "Sam" Rachele II

January 24, 1924 - April 27, 2023