He was their first born and when he was still a baby, they moved to San Bernardino and shortly thereafter, moved to Riverside.

·       In Riverside he attended Jefferson Elementary School and starred in a promotional video for the gifted program. He was a bright, bright star beyond his family.

·       In 1967, his family expanded to include a sister, Kathleen, and he recalled this day as the day he became a “big boy.”

·       In 1976, my grandparents moved to Big Bear and Randy attended Big Bear Middle School.  He joined the Marching Band that set a record for performing in the shortest parade in history for the Guiness Book of World Records.

·       In 1978, they moved again to Highland, where he attended San Gorgonio High School and graduated in 1982, moving on to the University of California Berkeley, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics.

·       The year after he moved out, his baby sister, Leandra was born with a span of almost 19 years between them.

(Pause)

·       One of his favorite quotes was by John Adams.  He said, “Our grandfathers were soldiers, so our fathers could be farmers, so we could be artists." 

·       And an artist he was!  Randy loved music and was in several bands including The Schematics and Wiley and the Coyotes.

·       After graduating, he lived for many years in San Francisco on Divisadero St.  He loved San Francisco and the view of the city from his second story apartment

·       About 20 years ago, Randy moved back to Highland and began dabbling in art, preferring ink drawings.  His unique drawings were spun from the magic of pen to paper, letting the ink guide his hand.  He rarely set out to draw something in particular.  Instead, he had a talent for tapping into his artistic energy and letting his hand go.

·       He also helped my grandparents manage their properties.

·       Then, he started writing in all kinds of genres, focusing mostly on urban fantasy and historical fiction.

·       From a young age, Randy carried with him, wherever he went paper and pen to record ideas down, whether they be for a song or a story he was writing.  He never wanted to miss an opportunity to listen to his muse.

·       In 2008, he met Diana at a family tamale making day at Aunt Grace’s house in Palm Springs.  They hit it off immediately and though it took a bit before they reconnected after that day, they fit like missing puzzle pieces.  Randy would joke that Diana was more like his family than even he was, but it wasn’t true.  Diana was a complimentary addition to our family and the love of his life.

·       Randy loved Christmas and wanted so much to keep the miracle of Christmas alive that he refused to even discuss stockings or Santa.  Santa was magic and like his music and his writing and his art, he fed and believed the magic and that is what made it real.

But, how does a person even write a eulogy for another person, put onto a finite space all that a person was?  Do we really understand the whole of a person ever? Randy was a friend, a partner, an uncle, a son, a brother, a cousin, a nephew, a writer, a musician, an artist, a debater.  The list goes on and on. His circle was wide and his talents were many.

From the bottom of my broken heart, I, like all of you, will miss him deeply.