Marana High School mourns loss of Corey Roper, 15

Marana High School’s hallways filled with students Wednesday morning, but Corey Roper's laugh was missing from among them.

A lover of math, science and video games, the 15-year-old sophomore would usually be found surrounded by laughter caused by his endless jokes, his uncle, Tyler Volkmann, said.

“He was hilarious,” Volkmann said. “(But) as much as he would sit there and joke around and just be a typical teenage boy, and I would say ‘rage bate’ sometimes, at the end of the day, he was just such a kind and gentle soul.”

Roper died by suicide. His body was found at Marana High School Tuesday by two staff members before classes started, prompting the school day to be canceled. Police say he broke into the campus about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Volkmann described his nephew as a “smart, energetic and creative” boy who was always looking out for others.

In 2023, then-12-year-old Roper suffered from second- and third-degree burns after his T-shirt melted onto his skin while attempting the fire challenge, a social media trend in which teens would attempt to create a fireball using rubbing alcohol or aerosol cans, according to an Arizona Republic story.

“He handled it with so much grace, honestly, like he did not let that stop him from doing anything,” Volkmann said. According to a 2023 GoFundMe page, Roper needed multiple surgeries, skin grafts and physical therapy.

“He's been such a proactive member of his camps,” Volkmann said, referring to Roper’s participation in the Arizona Burn Foundation’s Camp Courage, a free, weeklong summer camp for burn survivors ages 6 to 19. “He still goes back every year to help with kids and other burn victims that are going through similar situations.”

Camp counselors described Roper as adventurous, creative and invested, Tess Robaina, programs director at the Arizona Burn Foundation, told the Star.

“He's been a beloved member of this camp for the past few years, and really embraced the experience,” she said. “He showed really strong interest this past year with our ropes crew. They're the team that lead all of the high ropes courses, and he really stuck to them this year, wanting to learn as much as possible about the ropes crew (and) about even potentially becoming a firefighter in the future.”

She said the camp was “definitely feeling the loss of Corey.”

Volkmann said this school year, his nephew was intent on joining ROTC after getting clearance from his doctor.

“He was actually planning on turning in the paperwork, according to my sister (Corey's mother), this week,” Volkmann said. “He really did not let (his burns) stop him. He looked at it as, ‘Hey, I made a bad decision, these are my consequences.’”

Roper’s friends at Marana High School told the Star being back in school after the incident was difficult.

“School has felt empty and sad without him. A lot of his close friends, me included, have been sitting at his memorial most of the day until we get kicked back to class,” Havannah Walter, a friend of Roper’s since fourth grade, said in a text message. The friend group and various other students set up a memorial with flowers, drawings, notes and photos of Roper near the school bookstore.

“Corey was such a sweet soul, he always loved everybody and he was always super encouraging every day,” Marana High student Daniella Rittenhouse said in a text message. “My third period is awful without him. He made the school day better for a lot of people, even if he never realized it. We miss him so much.”

Emily Saint Charles, another close friend of Roper, said he was so funny “when he spoke, even if it wasn’t meant to be funny, it was funny.”

“Everyone liked Corey,” she said.

Marana Unified School District officials told the Star in an email statement that crisis counselors gave teachers “talking points about the situation” before the news of his death was relayed to students in first period Wednesday.

“She said something about the tragedy, I don’t remember if she called it a suicide or not but she did say it was Corey Roper because I remember hearing his name,” Walter said of her first period teacher.

Counselors were on campus for students Wednesday.

“A few of us went to try and get a moment to speak about Corey at our pep rally today but they said no and that cannot happen,” Rittenhouse said Friday. “Another group asked if we could do something to honor him, and the plan is to plant flowers and other greenery to honor him.”

Roper’s mom, Tiffany Roper, told the Star she was unable to talk about her son this last week.

“I just want my baby home,” she told the Star in a text message.

The district is reviewing the school's security system after Marana police said they were not alerted to any alarms overnight at the campus at 12000 W. Emigh Road, near North Sandario Road.