Leonard "Lenny" "Torp" Torpen was born in Bowman, ND on February 11, 1948 to Kenneth and Joyce (Tiegen) Torpen. He attended grade school at Whiting, ND (south of Scranton, ND) and graduated from Scranton High School. After graduating he worked at Colloid at Gascoyne, ND.

On February 13, 1968 he enlisted in the US Army and was sent to Vietnam in July 1969. He received his honorable discharge later that same year in November. In 1972 Lenny married Lucille Anderson and to this union three beautiful girls were born. He moved to Colorado and the marriage ended in divorce. He worked in Colorado until his father became ill and he moved to Bowman, ND to live with and care for him. After the death of his father, he moved to Spearfish, where he bought a home. Later he sold the house to became a full-time RVer, traveling with his beloved dog, Uffda.

In 2014 he got together with an old acquaintance named Verna; beginning a beautiful romance. They married in June 2020, beginning a life of traveling, adventures and living fully every minute. In 2023 his health was not good enough to continue traveling and they moved to Rapid City, SD, where they lived until his death. Lenny made friends wherever he went and always loved joking around. His daughters and grandchildren meant the world to him.

Leonard Kenneth Torpen, 77, of Rapid City, SD passed away Monday, March 31, 2025.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Kenny and Joyce Torpen, grandparents and best friend, Kenny Morland.

Lenny is survived by his daughters, Holly (Jim) Kreft, Heather (Shane) Freitag and Hope (Jeff) Wedul; grandchildren, Alexis, Oscar, Ellie, Sophia, Sadie, Hudson, Walker, and Jack; brothers, Ernie and Larry; two precious sisters, Susan and Barbara; many nieces and nephews; and his loving wife and soulmate, Verna (Clark) Torpen.

Family memorial services, with military honors, will be at Black Hills National Cemetery on April 18 at 12:30 p.m.

Condolences may be sent to the family at www.kinkadefunerals.com .

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