Randall William Downey

Randy is survived by his wife, Beth; his children, Lindsay and Eric; son-in-law, Jack; daughter-in-law, Claudia; his brother, Mike; five sisters-in-law; and two brothers-in-law, along with many beloved nephews and nieces. He has three grandsons, Troy (14), Jackson (9) and Silas (almost 2). He is predeceased by his brother, Roger; his father, Wayne; and his mother, Levon.

Randy was born on his dad’s birthday, July 25, 1950, and grew up in the single-stoplight village of Beaverdam, Ohio. He graduated from Elida High School in 1968 and joined the Army. He spent 19 years at Westinghouse Electric Corporation before starting a successful franchise business, Travelube, with his nephew and close friend, Bryan. Bryan and his wife, Julie (Tooter), relocated to Cape Coral.

Randy was a proud Vietnam veteran, a crossword puzzle aficionado, a T-ball coach and a master of dad jokes. He sat in the stands at any auto race he could, watched NASCAR and kept a detailed list of every car he’d ever owned.

He often mentioned how he’d once played the drums with Bob Seger (though the size of the venue grew every time he told the story). In his last year of life, Randy finally saw his favorite band, Three Dog Night, perform live.

He was known among his family for his eclectic collections (calculators, lanterns, international currency) and tended to his insatiable sweet tooth with a stockpile of root beer and M&Ms.

Randy—who loved comedies, steak and Ohio State and Cleveland Browns football—bowled, golfed, camped and boated in his younger years. He was a farmhand as a teen and loved the outdoors: He spent almost every evening in his Ohio barn and later his man-cave garage in Florida.

An amateur meteorologist and aspiring astronomer, Randy rarely missed a celestial event and carefully tracked every hurricane that blew through his state. Randy loved nothing more than being a father and collected T-shirts with his grandsons’ names. In August, Randy and Beth would have celebrated their 50th golden wedding anniversary.

Randy was soft-spoken, kind and a hero of everyone who knew him.