RANDALL, Doreen E.

Silver Creek Mortuary, Taylor, Arizona Doreen E. Randall (August 8, 1927 - April 6, 2012) Doreen Randall passed away on Friday, April 6th, a very dear lady, friend, sister, wife, mother, aunt and grandmother. She died peacefully at home in Snowflake, surrounded by immediate family. Doreen was a naturalized U.S. citizen, born in England. As a teen in WWII, she would play with her sisters under the kitchen tale during air raids, with bombs exploding nearby. She soon became a Registered Nurse and bravely worked in a burn unit before the war ended. In her early to mid-twenties, with friends, she explored Europe and then held a two-year nursing contract in Ohio. From the time she encountered racism around her, at work and elsewhere, she challenged it. When her Ohio contract was up, she took an airline job in New York to see the city before going back to England. At a friend’s party in NYC, she met her husband-to-be, Harry, a widower and a filmmaker in the healthcare field who hailed from Oregon, and soon made new plans. The sweethearts married in 1957, and within several years they had two beautiful daughters. They remained steadfast friends with Harry’s deceased wife’s family, who became their daughters’ local aunts, uncles and cousins. Doreen was a leader in their New Jersey neighborhood, along with Harry, and she was active in the PTA. The two served together as leaders in the Parents’ Council at the North Jersey Training Center, a home for the developmentally disabled, where their younger daughter lived from age 6. Doreen focused mainly on motherhood, along with church and civic activities, for about ten years – then, she again picked up and continued her nursing career for many more years. Doreen and Harry visited her family in England and his family on the west coast whenever possible, and had many relatives visit and stay with them for a time. They had the endearing habit of basically adopting the families of very close friends. They enjoyed tent camping and traveling around the Northeast and the West Coast. In her 60’s, Doreen faced cancer, including surgery and radiation treatments, and became a survivor. She and Harry lived in the New Jersey area for about 40 years, relocating in 1996 to Tucson to be near their older daughter’s family. Doreen played the Nana role perfectly, inspiring devotion in the youngest generation. She faced the beginnings of dementia in the early 2000’s, but together, she and Harry soldiered on for a time in Tucson, where the older daughter’s family was living a couple of hours’ drive away. The two lovebirds moved to the White Mountains in 2006, again following their older daughter’s family. Doreen’ sweet disposition and the deep love she had with Harry inspired those around them, including, in the last few years, many caregivers, to whom the family is very grateful. Doreen rose to all of the challenges in her life with grace and dignity, and will be remembered by many people as a good friend and a sweet, sweet little lady. Preceding Doreen in death are her parents and two sisters, as well as several brothers and sisters-in-laws, nieces and nephews. Doreen is survived by husband Harry and daughter Susan (and John) Phillips, of Snowflake, Arizona, daughter Lois Randall of Totowa, New Jersey, and one grandchild. Also surviving Doreen are a sister and a brother-in-law, both in England, and a sister and her husband in Ireland, as well as many nieces and nephews and their progeny. A memorial service will be held in California, nearby some of the nieces and nephews and their families. Local arrangements are being handled by Silver Creek Mortuary. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Alzheimer’s Association or Summit Healthcare Regional Medical Center.