James Randall Wyatt Jr.

The Honorable J. Randall Wyatt Jr. passed away on August 11, 2025. He was surrounded by his family, at the Nashville home where he and his late wife raised the couple’s five children.

Judge Wyatt is preceded in death by his wife, Karolyn “Kay” Kohl Wyatt, along with his parents, James Wyatt and Clyde Kiningham, and his brother, Mark Wyatt. He is survived by the couple’s five children, Angie (Lloyd) Monger, Jim (Stephanie) Wyatt, Laura (Pat) O’Loughlin, Lisa Wyatt and Vince (Sammi) Wyatt, along with 13 grandchildren – Grace (Monger) Teller, Robert Monger, Rhett Wyatt, Sydney (Wyatt) Townsend, Wyatt O’Loughlin, Maggie O’Loughlin, Katie O’Loughlin, Elizabeth (Rowan) Kelly, Selene Rowan, Luke Wyatt, Caleb Wyatt, Noah Grello, and Preston Grello.

He is also survived by his sister, Lynda (Wyatt) Mayo.

Judge Wyatt was the longest serving criminal court judge in Nashville history when he retired after 35 years on the bench in 2017. His judicial career numbered 43 years in all, counting his previous tenure as a general sessions court judge.

After attending Father Ryan High School, and graduating in 1955, Randall served four years in the United States Marine Corps, including a year-and-a-half in Japan. He was honorably discharged with a rank of Sergeant in 1959. Upon returning home to Nashville, Randall worked full time at night for seven years as a police officer with the Nashville Police Department while at the same time attending and then graduating from Middle Tennessee State College (now Middle Tennessee State University). He would drive to Murfreesboro to attend classes all day and then return to Nashville in time to work the 4 p.m. to midnight shift. The schedule continued through law school at Vanderbilt. After receiving his degree from Vanderbilt Law School, Randall served as a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly three years, working primarily in Minneapolis and Detroit. Randall then returned to Nashville, where he served as an assistant district attorney and a legal advisor for the Nashville Police Department for five years before being elected to General Sessions Court. During his time as a judge, he also was a member of the evening faculty at Aquinas College from 1969 to 1992, where he taught Criminal Law and Evidence.

Randall served on the Board of Directors of the Nashville Bar Association, and in 2005, he was awarded the Bar Association’s Jack Norman Sr. Award for excellence in criminal law. He also served as Presiding Judge for General Sessions Court from 1978 to 1980 and for the Davidson County Trial Courts from 1986 to 1987. His successful career and noted popularity were evidenced by his election record, as he was re-elected to his position in 1990, 1998, 2006, and 2014.

While announcing his retirement in 2017, Judge Wyatt reflected in his career and said, “I have enjoyed my time for the last 58 years working in the criminal justice system as a police officer, FBI agent, assistant district attorney, and finally as a judge for the last 43 years. I will greatly miss being in our court, and being with the people there. I do believe the time is right for me to spend more time with my wife, children, and grandchildren. It has been a privilege to serve the people of Davidson County over the years.”

Born on December 9, 1937, in Nashville, Randall shared his birth date with the opening of the Metropolitan Courthouse, a coincidental milestone that marked the beginning of his lifelong connection to the city’s judicial system. Although Judge Wyatt enjoyed an outstanding reputation for his legal work, he was equally known for treating all who appeared in his courtroom with patience, kindness, fairness, wisdom, dignity, and compassion while using a respectful demeanor.

Randall served on the boards of a number of community organizations, and he was a long-time parishioner at St. Henry Catholic Church.

Randall grew up in the Sylvan Park neighborhood in Nashville. He met his wife, Kay, at the American Red Cross, where she was working as a nurse. The two were married for 58 years before her death in February of 2022.

His family, and his friends, will always remember Randall as a kind and caring person, loyal friend, a loving husband, a great father, and grandfather.

He loved his family more than anything, and he was always interested in making sure everyone was happy.

Randall was proud of his time with the Marines, evidenced by the USMC “Devil Dog” tattoo on his left arm.

He loved Vanderbilt athletics, was a long-time season ticket holder who regularly attended Vanderbilt football, basketball and baseball games. On the morning he passed away in his bedroom at home, Wyatt’s five children surrounded him, holding his hands, and comforting him. He was under his favorite Vanderbilt throw blanket when he took his final breath at 1:45 a.m. Monday.

He was a proud supporter of the Tennessee Titans, an original PSL holder since Nissan Stadium opened in 1999. He rarely missed a game, even when needing a walker or wheelchair in recent years to get to his seat in Section 133.

Randall also loved the Los Angeles Dodgers, a DIRECTV subscriber since 1996 so he could watch all of the team’s games. He’d regularly stay up past midnight to see the final out, even when he had to be in court early the next morning.

He loved horse racing, jazz music and bobbleheads, which decorated his den’s mantel.

But more than anything, Randall loved living, meeting new people, and sharing his kindness with others. He aimed to develop a personal connection with everyone he encountered.

In the days leading up to his death, friends and family stopped by to visit Randall in his home, expressing gratitude for how he impacted them over the years. It brought a smile to Wyatt’s face even as his body was weakening, and he could barely open his eyes.

The Wyatt family would like to thank everyone for their sympathy and kindness at the time of our loss. His family loved him deeply. He loved making everyone laugh wherever he went, and he will be dearly missed by everyone that knew him.

Visitation will be held at St. Henry’s Catholic Church on Sunday from 4-6 p.m. A funeral mass will be held at noon on Monday at St. Henry’s Catholic Church.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Alzheimer’s Association.