Lt. Col. William (Bill) Randolph Jr.

William H. (Bill) Randolph, Jr., was born in May 1930 on afamily farm in Scottsville, Virginia, to William H. (Willie) Randolph, Sr., and Eva Wood Randolph. Bill Jr. was predeceased by his parents; his elder sister,Olive Randolph Baugh; and just last year his wife of 62 years, Barbara Dyer Randolph.

Whe nBill was a young boy, his parents moved the family to the “big city” of Charlottesville to provide their children with the opportunity for a better education. Although his sister was more than ten years his senior, Bill still found time to be Olive’s annoying little brother in the few years they lived under the same roof. Even into adulthood their teasing and loving banter continued.

Charlottesville during the 1930s and 40s provided Bill with many distractions from his schoolwork: wholesome destinations like movie houses, and not-so-wholesome venues like pool halls. Bill was a good student and still found time to develop quite the knack for pool.

For preparatory school, Bill attended St. Emma Military Academy in Rock Castle,Virginia—an all-boys Catholic military school. St. Emma offered Bill many extraordinary experiences, the most important of which was a chance meeting with the beautiful Barbara Jean Dyer, who attended nearby St. Frances DeSales, an all-girls Catholic high school. At their first meeting, Bill told Barb they’d marry one day. To his credit, he wasn’t deterred by her dismissive response, “Yeah,right.”

After high school, Bill received an athletic scholarship to play football at Hampton Institute, a four-year college in Hampton, Virginia. He played one season before concluding that getting bruised and beat up by massive linemen wasn’tfor him. He got permission to convert his athletic scholarship to a marching-band scholarship and spent the remaining three years as drum major.

After college, Bill pursued officers training in the United States Army. While stationed at Ft. Knox, Kentucky, Bill frequently traveled home to Virginia to visit family and friends. Bill would often break up those long trips home with rest stops in Columbus, Ohio, where Barb lived with her family. On November 22,1953—ten years to the day before President Kennedy’s assassination—Bill and Barb tied the knot. They would share the next 62 years together and raise three loving children: Rene, Bill III, and Julie.

During his military career, Bill rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served multiple tours of duty in Korea and Vietnam and earned two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star. As an Army Ranger, he was one of the first black officers to lead a battalion during wartime. He and his young family lived in many different places,overseas and stateside, and he welcomed every transfer and new assignment with enthusiasm and a commitment to serving his country. After 22 years in the Army, Bill retired in 1973.

His next career was to work in military procurement for Detroit Diesel Allison, a defense contractor. For 17 years, Bill helped manage research and development for engines to be used in military-transport planes.

After retiring from Allison, Bill was retired for good. He encouraged Barb in her professional pursuits and joined her in her career moves to San Diego and Denver. After Barb’s retirement they returned to Indianapolis where their three children had graduated from high school.

Throughout his life, Bill was a fervent volunteer to many civic and charitable causes. He always gave his all, whether organizing a turkey shoot for his children’s school,finding military uniforms the kids could borrow for a play, sitting on a nursery-school board, providing tourist information at a local airport, orworking with homeless veterans.

Bill wasa devoted husband and loving father and will be deeply missed.

Services are on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 at 10am at Legacy Cremation & Funeral Services, 5215 N. Shadeland Avenue, with visitation one hour prior to the service. His final resting place will be at Our Lady of Peace Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana.