Randall "Randy" Elwood McDaniel, age 74, of Hoover, Alabama, passed away peacefully to Heaven after a brief illness on January 17, 2021, at St. Vincent’s Hospital, surrounded by his family. He was born July 20, 1946, in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Randy graduated from Hewitt-Trussville High School in 1964 and earned degrees in geology and mineral engineering from the University of Alabama. He was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps and served in Vietnam.
Randy held a lifelong love of rocks, minerals, fossils, and geology. He cultivated a curiosity about the Earth and enjoyment of being outdoors from an early age, when he played along the stream on his grandfather’s farm in Lamar County, Alabama, and visited the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains with his parents and sister, and later with his wife and children. That deep curiosity led to him enjoying a long career as a geologist.
Randy was a geologist employed by U.S. Steel, Energen, and other companies. He was affectionately known as the Alabama Rock Doctor.
He was also a great storyteller, husband, father, and uncle. While at the University of Alabama, he met Gretchen Schaefer of Hoover and they were married on August 14, 1976 in Birmingham. He loved his family and will be missed.
Randy is preceded in death by his parents, Noel and Gay McDaniel; his father-in-law, Carl Schaefer; and a daughter-in-law, Caitlin Sweeney-McDaniel. He is survived by his wife, Gretchen; three sons, Paul of Atlanta, Georgia, James of Reykjavik, Iceland, and Phillip of Hoover; sister, Cheryl Worthington (Mike) of Hillsboro, Oregon; mother-in-law, Gloria Schaefer of Hoover; sister-in-law, Carol Milster (Danny) of Birmingham; brothers-in-law, Carl Schaefer (Shari) and Dale Schaefer (Gladys) of Birmingham; and aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and many good friends.
Thank you, Randy, for setting a great example and inspiring us to find great hiking trails, majestic mountain views, fascinating geological formations, and to learn about our beautiful world. We love you and will miss you.
A family graveside service will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 30, 2021 at Southern Heritage Cemetery in Pelham, Alabama.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Randall McDaniel’s memory to Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve in Birmingham.
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