I'm sorry to report that I can verify the passing of Randy. I was contacted this morning by Jeff Higgins, an old friend from my all-to-brief tenure as an R Gruppe member. Jeff hoped to determine if the rumors of Randy's passing had any validity. As a Eugene resident, and someone that DID drink beers with Randy now and then over the last 15 years, he thought that I would know. I didn't - I hadn't seen Randy since the start of the pandemic. I did some digging by contacting someone locally that I knew he associated with. The worst was confirmed. Randy died of natural causes on the date shown in the obituary noted in this thread. That obituary did misstate his age - he was 69. I was forwarded the obituary attached here; I believe from his home town in Louisiana.
It's interesting to hear of all of your perspectives. I believe that I'm the only person posting in this huge thread that actually had first-hand contact with him. So let me share what I experienced:
Randy was smart, well-educated, opinionated, liberal, and had wide ranging interests. You'll not be surprised to know that he loved to argue. He and I shared very similar world views and political perspectives, yet there was no visit with Randy that didn't involve some kind of argument! As some of you noted, it was possible to change his mind, so the arguments never seemed tedious or pointless. As I'm thinking of him today, it suddenly occurs to me that this was his mechanism for learning, and that's why you all know him. Randy and I got along because he had that quality that I think I cherish above all others: curiosity. I'm filled with regret that I hadn't connected with him in two years. It was something on my list of things to do that I just didn't get to.