Charles L. Randall

Charles L. Randall passed away August 28, 2021. Funeral service will be held at the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, August 21, 2021, with church pastor, Bro. John Spurgeon, officiating. Burial will be at Sunset Cemetery. Visitation will be prior to the service from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, on Tuesday, August 31, 2021, at the church.

He was born June 19, 1934, the oldest child of Jessie and Bessie Randall, in the Pleasant Hill Community which was commonly known as “The Bogg.” Soon after his family began calling him Sonny Boy, a nickname he was known by family and close friends his entire lifetime. His favorite playmates were his double first cousins that lived close by.

Charles attended elementary school at the Bogg school and high school at Central Heights, graduating in 1952.

He grew up during what was commonly called “hard times” and developed a strong work ethic. In elementary school he changed into work clothes as soon as he got in from school to pick cotton. He also helped his dad with the farm truck crops. When he was in high school, he milked cows at family dairies before and after school.

Charles was the family hunter and, from a young age, trapped and hunted small animals and sold the hides to Joe Zeve at his department store on Main Street. He received twenty-five cents for a small animal hide and once received fifty cents for a large perfect hide.

After graduating high school, he worked part-time at Cason-Monk as a delivery boy while attending Stephen F. Austin State College. He received a B.S. in Agriculture in 1958 but decided teaching was not for him and continued working at Cason-Monk Furniture Store. He retired there as manager after over fifty years. He knew furniture and every lady in town knew him.

He met his wife, Alice Joy Mitchell, in 1956 and they married in 1957. They were the parents of three sons, Joe, Tony, and Michael.

Charles always kept busy. In his spare time, he liked to hunt and fish. He and his oldest son Joe delighted in getting up early on a cold morning and going duck hunting. In his later years, he also restored his old 1950 Ford truck.

Through the years, Charles and Joy enjoyed fall vacations with family and friends in Arkansas, Tennessee, Colorado, and North Carolina. In later years, he and Joy traveled annually to see the fall foliage in Arkansas.

He and Joy moved to the Pleasant Hill Community in 1994 and built a home on land that has been in the Randall family since the 1800s. He enjoyed working on the farm, growing a garden, and sharing produce with family and friends.

Charles was a faithful member of Pleasant Hill Baptist Church where he enjoyed serving on the Building and Grounds Committee for several years and helping the ladies in the kitchen after church dinners.

He is predeceased by his parents, Jessie and Bessie Randall; sons, Joe and Michael; and sister, Sadie Barrett. He is survived by his wife, Alice Joy Randall; son, Tony Randall and wife, Leslie, of Jasper; sister, Betty Herrick, of Lufkin; brother, Tom Randall and wife, Nancy, of Martinsville; five grandchildren; six great grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

Pallbearers for the service will be Kenny Johns, Emmett Case, Ted Martindale, Herb Hancock, Don Gresham, and Carrol Schrieber.

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