BROOKFIELD – Passed away peacefully on Friday, March 15, 2024 at the age of 79. Beloved husband for 45 years of Sally (née Benson). Dear father of Brian (Dominic Lindeque) and Jeffrey. Loving grandfather of Gavin and Mika. Dear brother of Nancy (Carl) Schopp. Dear brother-in-law of Susan Benson, Daniel (Stacie) Benson, and Christine Benson. Further survived by niece Caroline Benson; nephews Daniel Schopp, Michael Schopp and Edward Benson; great-nieces Brenna and Nora Schopp; great-nephew Owen Schopp; Aunt Alice Hutsteiner, and other relatives and friends.
Preceded in death by his parents, Elmer and Pauline Oloizia, and his parents-in-law, Daniel and Joyce Benson.
Randy was born and raised in Milwaukee, where he made fond memories playing the clarinet in the Continental Youth Band. His love of music carried through his time at Custer High School and his first two years of college at UW-Milwaukee. He finished his college career at UW-Madison, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in secondary education. He later earned a Master of Education at UWM.
Randy spent his entire career teaching science, mainly physics, at both Wauwatosa West and East High Schools, retiring in 2003. He also coached track and field (shot put and discus), wrestling, and cross country.
During retirement, Randy was pulled back into coaching, spending a few seasons mentoring the throwing athletes at Brookfield Academy. While Sally continued to teach another ten years, Randy developed a love of cooking and spent a lot of time golfing, playing poker and Sheepshead, and traveling to visit family and friends in Florida and Arizona.
Travel was Randy’s favorite pastime. During summers, he, Sally, and the boys ventured in their pop-up camper throughout the U.S. Later, he had the opportunity to visit England, France, Japan, and South Africa, where he bounced in a jeep on a safari and rode in a helicopter over Victoria Falls. His favorite vacation spot was Florida, particularly the Fort Myers area. Annual trips were made to this warm, sunny state over the past 45 years.
Randy’s greatest joy in life was his role as a father and grandfather. He took delight in watching the boys develop scholastically, athletically, and artistically. Both Brian and Jeff excelled in their classes, participated in football, basketball, track, and baseball, and played the saxophone from fourth grade through high school. Randy delighted in the fact that Brian and Jeff carried on the Badger tradition and furthered their education, with Brian eventually earning a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati, and Jeff, a master’s in creative writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Randy became a grandfather through the birth of Gavin and Mika in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Retirement provided the opportunity for Randy and Sally to jump in the car whenever they wanted to visit Brian, Dominic, and the grandkids in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and now, Columbus (Dublin), Ohio.
A visitation will be held Saturday, April 6, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. until a brief prayer service at 11:30 a.m. at Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Home, 10121 W. North Avenue, Wauwatosa. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the MACC Fund and/or the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
