Eldon Ray Randolph, 83, peacefully passed away September 17, 2026. He was born February 16, 1943, in Beaver City, OK, to proud parents Ernest and Theo “Moss” Randolph. In 1946, the family moved to a farm near Vici, OK. Eldon enjoyed farm life, hunting and fishing at every opportunity while taking care of the cow herd. At the age of twelve, he helped his mother plow the wheat field while his dad was away working. He graduated from Vici High School in 1961 and then attended Northwestern State College for two years. During the summer, he worked for Albert Electric in Woodward as an electrician helper for six months. He then transferred to OSU in 1963 and graduated in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering. Eldon started working for the USDA Soil Conservation Service (SCS) in May 1964 as a student trainee and worked in all phases of soil and water conservation during his 40-year career. As Agricultural Engineer at Clinton, he covered six counties, at Guymon, in irrigation management, he covered the panhandle, and at Chickasha, he completed six Flood Insurance Studies for FEMA. In 1980, he moved to the Stillwater Design Section preparing design and construction contracts for numerous flood retarding dams and grade stabilization structures. In 2006, with 40 years of service, he retired from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. At OSU, he met the love of his life, Sharon Kay Case, and they were married in 1966. To this union, they had five boys: Johnny, Jimmy, Lanny, Casey, and Shane. For over 60 years, they built a home where they raised their boys and always welcomed family and friends.
Eldon was drafted into the US Army in September 1967 during the Vietnam War, eight months after the loss of their first son, Johnny. He was sent to Frankfurt, Germany, for 18 months, where Sharon joined him for the last 12 months. They enjoyed trips in Germany, Holland, and Austria. Eldon devoted his life to God and family; he was baptized by Judd Polson in July 1962 into the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn. Eldon and Sharon lived in Stillwater, Lawton, Frankfurt, Germany, Marlow, Clinton, Guymon, and Tuttle before settling in Cushing, OK, in 1980, where they were active church members for the rest of their lives. They frequently opened their home to friends and the church’s young kids. Eldon frequently talked about one 4th of July when the family became host to over 100 kids who were “unexpectedly” invited for hamburgers and games. Eldon was a curious person. He enjoyed understanding how things worked and explaining it to others. He loved spending time with his grandchildren and teaching them about plants, fungi, birds, insects, machinery, and how things worked. His daughter-in-law often joked that on walks with Grandpa, the grandchildren could learn more in an hour than they would in days at school. Eldon was an extremely patient, witty, and quietly generous person. He found great joy in growing tomatoes and checking on his fruit trees. Perhaps what he enjoyed most was giving the fruits of his labor away to family, friends, and neighbors. In 2006, Eldon was elected to the Parkland Cemetery Board of Directors, where he spent many hours taking care of cemetery business and helping people in their time of need. He was particularly proud of the Veterans’ Memorial constructed at the cemetery in 2014.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Sharon Kay (Case) Randolph; one son, Johnny Randolph; grandsons Eldon Richard Randolph and Nicholas Lee Randolph; parents, Earnest and Theo (Moss) Randolph; three sisters: Brenda Randolph, Betty Ferguson and husband Roy of Woodward, and Bonnie Parry and husband Don of Vici; grandparents Raymond and Maggie (Winters) Moss and Harry and Pearl (Rehard) Randolph; and in-laws Johnny and Juanita Case. He is survived by his sons: Jimmy Randolph with wife Angela of Stillwater, Lanny Randolph of Bixby, Casey Randolph of the home, and Shane Randolph of Jenks; grandchildren: Brooke and husband Wes Taylor of Cushing, Brandy and husband Kurtis Waring of Wichita, Kansas, Brennan Randolph of Stillwater, and Brystol Randolph of Stillwater; and great-grandchild: Summit Waring of Wichita, Kansas.
