John Nevitt Randolph

John Nevitt Randolph, age 74, a resident of Shelby County, Alabama and a leading conservationist, attorney and published author, died on March 31, 2019 due to complications from a stroke he suffered on June 24 2018.

John is survived by his wife, Virginia Rae Sullivan Randolph, the love of his life; his brother, Richard R. Randolph III and his wife Natasha B. Randolph of Birmingham, Alabama; two sons, Richard R. Randolph IV and his wife Patricia Ann F. Randolph of Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Ryland M. Randolph and his wife Aubra G. Randolph of Mobile, Alabama; one grandson, Brian Sullivan and his wife Desmar Walkes Sullivan of Smithville, Texas; great-grandsons, Ryan Sullivan and his wife Campbell Sullivan, and Adam Sullivan of San Antonio, Texas; several cousins, great-nephews and great-nieces; and beloved dog, Stacey.

Born July 2, 1944, John was the second son of the late Richard R. Randolph Jr. and Lillian F. Randolph of Mountain Brook. He attended Crestline Elementary School, Mountain Brook Junior High School, and in 1962, he graduated from Shades Valley High School. He then attended the University of Alabama, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon social fraternity.

John received a B.S. degree in Commerce and Business Administration from the University in 1966. He then attended the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity. He received a Juris Doctor degree from Cumberland in 1968 and embarked upon a career practicing law in Birmingham.

John retired from the law firm of Sirote & Permutt, P.C., where he managed the firm’s residential real estate practice. Recently, he was recognized by the Alabama State Bar Association as a 50-year stalwart of his profession.

John’s love of all things wild led him to extensive exploration of the remote backcountry in National Parks and Wilderness Areas in 10 states and the U.K., usually in the company of one of his closest companions: his wife Virginia, Ira and Anne Mitchell, and C. Lee Reeves and Laurence W. "Larry" Church. John's favorite destinations were the Sipsey Wilderness Area in Alabama and Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. His love of the wild also propelled him into a leadership role in the grass-roots campaigns of the 1970s and 80s to preserve publicly-owned wild lands in the eastern United States. During this period, he served as Executive Director of the Alabama Conservancy; founder and first Chairman of the Alabama Wilderness Coalition; Director of Natural Area Preservation of the Birmingham Audubon Society; founder and first chairman of the Alabama Audubon Council; and President of the Birmingham Audubon Society.

For his leadership in obtaining Congressional designation of the Cheaha Wilderness Area in the Talladega National Forest and legislation enlarging the Sipsey Wilderness Area in the Bankhead National Forest and designating the West Fork Sipsey River in the Bankhead as a National Wild and Scenic River, John received the1988 Sol Feinstone Environmental Award from the State University of New York, was named 1988 Conservationist of the Year by the Alabama Environmental Council, was named an “Environmental Hero” of the 1980s by the Sierra Club, and received a 1989 National Conservation Committee Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution.

After retiring, John wrote a history of the Alabama National Forest Wilderness movement entitled, “The Battle for Alabama’s Wilderness — Saving the Great Gymnasiums of Nature,” published in 2005 by the Fire Ant Press, an imprint of the University of Alabama Press.

John's retirement years also provided him the opportunity to help lead another significant conservation effort. He and his beloved wife Ginny organized their neighbors and nearby property owners in raising a substantial part of the purchase price paid by the Freshwater Land Trust in acquiring some 200-plus acres across the northern face and crest of Double Oak Mountain in Shelby County, permanently restricting the land against development.

A private family gathering is being planned to celebrate John's life.

The family suggests that instead of flowers, donations be made in John Randolph’s memory to the Freshwater Land Trust or to the Forever Wild Conservation Fund of the Alabama Department of Conservation.