Hoke Randall

DULUTH — Hoke Smith ‘Smitty’ Randall Jr., 82, joined Barbara in heaven Aug. 12, 2017. He is survived by his brother, Donald Randall, of Covington, Ga.; son, H.S. ‘Chip’ Randall III, of Duluth, Ga.; and daughter, Lauriann R. Triko, of Chicago, Ill.; and three beautiful grandchildren, Elizabeth, William and Alexandra. Smitty was born on Feb. 22, 1935, in Covington, Ga., where he grew up and graduated from Newton County High. In 1954, he went to Georgia Tech where he studied business. In 1955, he joined the U.S. Army and served in Korea until 1957. After the war he returned to Atlanta where he graduated from Georgia State with a business degree. After college he met his wife of 55 years, Barbara Jean Parker, of Covington, Ga. (the country part). They were married July 1960, at Red Oak UMC where Barbara was a member. Smitty began his professional career with Ford Motor Company working at the Hapeville Assembly Plant. His claim was he was one of the first college educated workers at the plant. His job as a recent college graduate was the title of 'Space and Time Management Engineer' sounded very important, but Smitty described it another way, ‘You have to be an A_ _ hole to do this job’, a 25-year-old kid telling a 45-year-old assemblyman how to screw lug nuts on faster, after he had been doing that same task for 20 years, was not for Smitty. So one Friday he had had enough and resigned. His supervisor simply laughed at him saying, ‘You have a brand new wife, who is pregnant with your first child, a brand new house, a company car, corporate benefits (when they were real benefits) basically the golden hand cuffs of life, you’ll be back Monday. He didn’t show up that Monday, and by the next day Ford was calling him asking him to come back, WOW after only a few months, he was impressive. So he returned to Ford and moved his family to Chattanooga, Tn. where he worked as a traveling salesman for Ford, calling on dealerships weekly in north Alabama, north Mississippi and southern Tennessee, a Georgia Tech fan in ‘Big Orange Country’. He was an avid golfer; living in Valleybrook CC S/D was one of his dreams. Several time there would be a professional tournament at the club and Barbara and Smitty would have golfers stay at their home, he /loved the game. In the early 70’s his entrepreneurial spirit led Smitty to own and operate several car parts stores in east Tennessee. Unfortunately the gas crisis of the late 70’s hit and they lost the businesses. In 1980 he joined Birmingham based Parts Distributors Warehouse managing the Chattanooga warehouse where he worked until 1996. That year he and Barbara were planning their retirement when she had a debilitating stroke. So they traded the beach house in Daytona for a ranch in Alpharetta. For the next 19 years Smitty’s job went from serving the public to serving Barbara, he was amazing. They were adorable, truly ‘peas in a pod’. They were the life of any party. For about 10 years Smitty suffered with Alzheimer’s, Barbara covered for him 4 of those years, she was serving him. June 2014 Barbara went to be with Jesus, Smitty is with her now. With Alzheimer’s your memories are the most painful things to loose. Smitty had not remembered her name in 3 years. Three nights in a row prior to passing he would sit up in bed and call her name ‘Barbara Jean Parker, I’m coming home’. Originally they were members of Red Oak UMC in Covington; their most recent church home is John’s Creek UMC where Smitty and Barbara would regularly lead the Sunday school class. If there is ONE thing certain in this world, it is, there is a GOD, and Smitty and Barbara are with him now. Funeral services will be held Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017, at 2 p.m. at Bill Head Funeral Home Duluth Chapel. Burial will follow at 4 p.m. at Red Oak United Methodist Church Cemetery, Covington, GA at 4 p.m. The family will receive friends Friday, Aug. 18, 2017, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Bill Head Funeral Homes & Crematory Duluth Chapel, 770-476-2535.