Randall L. “Randy” Thrasher

Randall L. “Randy” Thrasher

August 4, 1952 – November 8, 2023

Randy Lee Thrasher son of Merle and Valeria Thrasher was born on August 4, 1952 in Fort Madison, IA but soon after moved to Houghton, IA where his grandma and grandpa Bentler lived. He was very close with his grandparents. Randy was the middle child of 5 children, which you know what they say about the middle child. He was mischievous, ornery, and the life of the party. He was very outgoing and had the ability to take over any room, with his big personality, loud laugh, and charm. He always loved fishing, sunsets, tinkering with things, go karts, snow mobiles, and motorcycles. Randy was exceptionally bright and could fix anything. He loved to take things apart only to put them back together better.

At the age of 14 he and his family moved to Earling, IA where he spent the remainder of his adolescent years. He attended Harlan High School where he made many friends and loved to listen to rock n roll music. He enjoyed his rural Iowa upbringing. It was at one of his best friend’s weddings where he met the love of his life, Peg, and the future mother of his daughters. They lived in Harlan, IA until work led him to Omaha, NE. He was always in some line of work where he could use his skills of electrical, plumbing, Hvac, or general construction. He continued to meet friends along the way and spent much of his spare time fishing – with summers often spent at Lake of the Woods, Canada with his family.

Not being a huge fan of midwest winters, in 2001 he moved to San Clemente, CA. He fell in love with southern California – with its beautiful sunsets, warm weather, and deep sea fishing. His girls visited often, even moving there for a short time to be closer to him.

Randy had a very special bond with his mother, Val. She was his cheerleader in life, offering unconditional encouragement and love. They talked on the phone every Sunday night. They both looked forward to those phone calls and for the chance to catch up and share stories.

While he enjoyed his life in California, he decided it was time to move back to Omaha to be with his family. He moved back to Omaha in 2014 – in time to spend some final quality time with his mom before she passed.

Randy retired shortly after that. He spent his time with his family, tinkering in his garage, geeking out over his plants, and fishing. He purchased a small fishing boat and loved taking it out whenever he could. He loved his grandkids and loved watching their games and especially watching his granddaughter, Alayna dance. He was so proud of his daughters and the lives they had made for themselves.

Randy’s faith was incredibly important to him. He had such a strong faith and was dedicated to the Lord. In late 2019 he decided to “get off my rear and seek out Jesus”. Randy was baptized at Christ Community Lutheran on 9/29/2019.

In late 2022, Randy was diagnosed with Lung Cancer and had a successful procedure, removing parts of his lung. However, throughout 2023, he was experiencing a decline in his health, but remained optimistic with the Lord on his side. In June, he joined his siblings and some friends in Canada for what we now know was his last fishing trip. He bragged to us all that he caught the biggest fish of the season at 22 ½ inches long.  So many memories were made and he was so grateful for that time with his family, doing one of his most favorite things in life.

Randy will be deeply missed by his survivors, daughters, Jill Kennon (Bryce) and Leah Thrasher; grandchildren, Seth, Gavin and Alayna; brothers and sisters, Tom (Janet) Thrasher, Ron (Cyg) Thrasher, Greg (Nancy) Thrasher, Jan (Mike) Haye; many nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by parents, Merle and Valeria Thrasher; nephew, Jason.

We believe Randy would want us to remember him for his love of his family, his love of the Lord, his sense of humor, and of course his charming good looks.

Visitation: Thursday, November 16th, from 5:00PM – 6:30PM at West Center Chapel with a Memorial Service at 6:30PM.

Memorials are suggested to the Lutheran World Relief (www.lwr.org)