Randall Charles Brandt's Obituary
Randall "Randy" Charles Brandt passed away on Sunday, November 14, 2021.
Randy was born on October 20, 1957, in St. Louis to the late Marvin and Helen (nee Purkey) Brandt.
Randy is survived by his loving wife of 40 years, Donna Brandt (nee Rygelski); his children Jonathan (Sarah) Brandt and Kimberly (Chris Foy) Brandt; grandchildren Madeline and Xavier Brandt; brothers Robert (Lisa) and Richard (Daun) Brandt; mother-in-law, Joyce Rygelski; brothers-in-law to David (Janet) and Michael (Peggy) Rygelski; along with being a special Uncle, Cousin, Godfather, and friend to many.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, November 20, 2021, at 4 pm at The Florissant Golf Course at 50 Country Club Lane, Florissant, MO 63033. For the safety of all who attend, masks are required while indoors.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to consider donating blood, donating platelets, or signing up on a bone marrow registry to be a donor.
Flameless Cremation services provided by Hughes Funeral Alternatives, LLC. Please see their website to see more at www.HughesFuneralAlternatives.com
MEMORIES OF RANDY PREPARED BY HIS FAMILY:
Randy was a true one-of-a-kind guy. He was a person that could always put a smile on your face, and he never met a stranger. Over the last few days, the amount of people that have reached out to us to share a story has shown us how many people he has touched throughout his short 64 years.
Randy and Donna were married for 40 years and had two children, Jonathan and Kimberly. He was very involved in the lives of Jon and his wife Sarah and his two grandchildren, Madeline and Xavier; along with Kimmie and Chris Foy. None of us are as eloquent as Mads with writing a four-page story upon hearing about her PawPaw that starts: "PawPaw was a husband. He was a dad. He was a Grandpa. He was a great man." He shared a special relationship with each of his kids and grandkids. Randy could and would tell you what Xavier did in pre-school or how many goals Mads scored at her game. He had an extra special relationship with each of the grandkids; Madeline was his "little girlfriend", and Xavier was his "little buddy". Randy and Mads would argue over TV time... "PawPaw, we've watched enough golf for the day, can we watch my show now?!" I guess he caved in all too often because he knew the words and songs to the Frozen Movie! He would regularly ride his bike over to Chris and Kim's house to check on the height of their banana trees, or to watch the antics of the backyard squirrels, or just to chat. He would call Donna at work to say he rode his bike for hours but in reality, he was chatting with the kids for hours and his bike ride was actually 20 minutes round trip!
Before COVID hit and Randy had to be extra careful around others, he and Donna could be found having fun at the local casinos, out to dinner with friends, watching the kids play volleyball, and having people over for game night., One time, they went to Vegas with Dave, Janet, and the Rygelski cousins to watch the Blues play and enjoy some down time. Well, "down time" for Donna because 3 hours before their flight to Vegas, Randy was hustling to get back on another flight from Florida after a week of golfing with the guys. He called Donna to say he might be late to which she replied, "that's ok, I'll meet you there!" What a life! Randy and Donna also took lots of beach trips with Debbie and Larry, and occasionally other couples would join in the fun. They took countless trips to Florida and played lots of golf together down there.
As everyone knows, his favorite pastime was talking, and a close second was golfing! If you have ever played golf with him, he never stopped talking on the course. No matter how good or bad of a round he shot he always had fun and regaled Donna and anyone else that would be at the house with the entire day's events! Randy retired after 33 years as a proud Union Truck Driver. Donna made a deal with Randy when he decided to retire early that because she was still working; he would be in charge of making dinners Monday-Thursday. The only problem with that was Tuesdays and Thursdays were golfing days (along with an occasional Friday and every Sunday). There were many days that he would get home 5-minutes before Donna and throw something in the insta-pot for dinner. He became the King of the Insta Pot since he used it so often to prepare dinner!
Randy could talk about anything (lots of useless knowledge except for the obscure trivia question he could answer) and was a true jack of all trades. If you wanted to know who won in the Ryder Cup in 2013? Randy could share that knowledge. If you wanted to know what sink faucet has the best reviews and how to replace it? Randy would share that knowledge. If either of the kids needed someone to come by to wait for the cable guy, repairman, or the gas guy, you called Randy. If you needed help to get the kid's washing machine moved in? You asked Randy. He was there to help his kids with any small task or request and would be running out the door before you could even say goodbye. If you wanted to know if ANY TV show/movie is worth your time, Randy would share that knowledge and he would proceed to tell you the entire story while watching with you and talk through the whole thing. He helped coach Jon's baseball team for several years. He was a long-time member of NCFFL Fantasy Football League. His league and especially his team, Helen's Raiders, will miss his weekly input. We know there will be a "Cheers to Randy" and weekly questioning if he has any insights on the next week's games from above!
You may not know Randy's medical journey. In November 2013, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He went through chemo for five cycles and was still able to golf and babysit Madeline on Mondays. The chemo that he received to treat his lymphoma unknowingly and unfortunately jump started something in his genes called MDS. When COVID started we began to all stay in our bubbles. His MDS grew and needed to be treated in 2020. He needed a bone marrow transplant and received that in January of 2021. That was a very difficult process for him and our family. He and Donna were in isolation while he had to fight to bounce back. To get a transplant, you must receive a regimen of chemo and immunosuppressants to lower your immune system so low that you lose all previous vaccinations- think of every childhood vaccine like mumps/measles. This is done with the hope that your body does not reject the transplant; however, it also meant more self-isolation. He fought very hard and made some progress. After 39 days in the hospital, he was able to come home but continued to go to the Barnes' doctors multiple times a week for blood and platelet infusions. Unfortunately, his bone marrow transplant was unsuccessful. While he was getting ready for a second bone marrow transplant, his MDS turned into leukemia. He had two rounds of chemo to fight the leukemia while continuing to receive blood and platelets regularly. The second transplant was scheduled for late October - early November. His doctors asked him at the beginning of this journey what he wanted to do most besides doing stuff with the family, and he, of course, wanted to get back on the golf course. The doctors were always optimistic that he would get there. He kept his boxing gloves on to fight this until the end when leukemia took his life. No other words to say except cancer sucks! Our family was blessed with the very best Team from Barnes to include Dr. Jacoby, Megan, and Stephanie. They were there any time we needed them.
While he was not able to return to the clubhouse with the rest of us, now he will always have his full 18 holes. We are going to host a celebration of life on Saturday, November 20, 2021, from 4-8 p.m. at Florissant Golf Club located at 50 Country Club Lane in Florissant, MO 63033. Please DO NOT dress up, Randy hated suits, and since we will be at a golf course, please wear your golf attire. This will be both an inside and outside event, dress comfortably.
The family asks for the safety of all who are attending, masks are required while indoors.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to consider donating blood, platelets, or becoming a bone marrow donor. You can sign up to donate bone marrow or stem cells at www.BeTheMatch.org to register. Randy would not have made it as far in his journey without the hundreds of pints of blood and platelets from those generous strangers that gave their time to donate. For those who are unable or hesitant to donate blood or platelets, Randy was also active with Light the Night, which is part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
In closing, we wanted to share some of Randy's "Brandtisms" that he said all the time like:
"These are my good-looking glasses, not the ones I can see out of."
When Donna or Kimmie would have a good golf shot he'd say, "that's a peach, babe."
When someone asked how he was doing he would say, "I'm livin' the dream." He actually said those words at his last doctor's appointment on the Tuesday before getting admitted.
Instead of "No gimmies while putting," instead he said "it won't take you but a minute to brush that in"
He told the kids since they were little and I think this came from his dad, "there are Brandt's, and those that wished they were."
"Brandt summer home, some are here, some are gone."
"Lie, deny, and counter accuse-that's the Brandt way of life."
(He embraced this phrase from Marvin) "That's what she said last night."
"I know a shortcut," (...which inevitably added miles to the trip).
"You were supposed to make a jig, not a jag."
"Don't worry, I'm a professional driver."
While we will miss him terribly, we want to keep his memories and "isms" alive. We will have a memory book at the celebration that we would love for you to share your stories with the family, or we would love for you to bring something already written to place in the book. Please bring your favorite story or two and get ready to toast the best husband, dad, PawPaw, uncle, cousin, golf partner, teacher, and friend. Here's to Randy!
What’s your fondest memory of Randall?
What’s a lesson you learned from Randall?
Share a story where Randall's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Randall you’ll never forget.
How did Randall make you smile?