Thomas William McTevia, 42

Thomas William McTevia, 42, of Coeur d'Alene, formerly of Orofino, Idaho, left this world with his best friend, Tina Hoisington, riding an ATV, doing what he loved best.

Tom was born on Dec. 26, 1972, in Apply Valley, Calif., to Tim and Mary McTevia. He is the older of their two children. Tom started school in Orofino. The family moved back to California for a short time, where he attended second and third grades. They returned to Orofino, where Tom played on the Wildcats little league team with his lifelong friend, Ryan Smathers, in elementary school.

He was on the wrestling team in junior high and high school, where he graduated from Orofino High School in 1991. His interests were many. He loved the outdoors, participated in many outdoor activities before and after an ATV injury in 2004 which left him paralyzed, and was an advocate for the physically challenged to obtain better accessibility to the back country of Idaho.

Tom married three times - the first to Vickie Klapp, his son Ryan's mother; then to Nancy Dawson; and after his injury, to Angie Mumau.

Tom wrote a summary of his life with a severe spinal cord injury. In his words:

"April 12, 2004, life was changed. In the blink of an eye I was out on my 4-wheeler, and I ended up losing control, ultimately crashing it, and ended up with a spinal cord injury. I crushed my spine, C4-T1 vertebrae. I've come a long way since then. Something bad happened, but I'm still alive and I try to make the best of what I've got. I've pretty much accepted life with the injury as a good thing, and I don't let this slow me down much. I'm still pretty active and independent, and I try to do as much as I did before; I just have to find alternate ways to do it. Anything I set my mind to, I can do it! I have spent most of my adult life, pre-injury, in the uniformed service. I started out after high school serving in the United States Navy as a steelworker in the Seabees, and after that I started a career in law enforcement and really enjoyed that until my injury. After the injury, fortunately, I was able to retire and focus on living life and being thankful for what I've got."

At the time of his injury, Tom made the decision to live and make the most of it. He retired from the police department, and preceded to live life to its fullest. He made many friends and loved them all.

Tom was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Harold and Mary Beth McTevia; his maternal grandparents, Bill and Hazel Thompson; several uncles and aunts, and two cousins.

Tom is survived by his son, Ryan McTevia of Hesperia, Calif.; his mother and father, Tim and Mary McTevia of Orofino; his sister, Laura (Chris) Bess; nephew Mike Kaminski, niece Bekah Kaminski, nephew Isaac Bess, all of Orofino; and aunts, many cousins and loved ones.

He was loved by many, and will be missed by all. Rest in Peace, Tom!

His services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2, 2015, at the Orofino City Park; casual dress. There will be a potluck following. It would be helpful to bring your own drinks and lawn chairs.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to stem cell research at the Christopher Reeve Foundation at christopherreeve.org.