Randall "Randy" Lee Daugherty

Randall "Randy" Lee Daugherty, 76, of Robinson, IL, passed away on Friday, July 10, 2026, at Arbor Rose of Robinson.

He was born on June 12, 1950, in rural Palestine, IL, the son of Lester "Skip" and Doris (McCammon) Daugherty. His parents were at a fish fry when Randy made it known he couldn't wait to enter the world, and Robinson was too far off to accommodate him. So, he was born in the back of a car instead. The fish was still hot, so the family went back to it, and Randy made his hospital debut the next morning.

His father's blacksmith shop was Randy's first classroom. He was too short to reach the triphammer, so he had to stand on a crate and sharpen plow shears from there. By the time he was tall enough to stand flat-footed, he had already learned what he was going to be: a mechanic. So when he graduated from Palestine High School, there was never much question about where he was headed. He went on to Mt. Carmel College and earned a degree in Ag Mechanics, putting a diploma behind what he had been doing since he was a boy.

After the blacksmith shop burned down, a new building rose in its place and became D&M Equipment, where he worked on farm equipment. That was where Randy did the work he loved best. He knew tractors and implements the way some men know people, and he kept the farms around him running. When D&M closed, he got hired on at Hershey and stayed for more than twenty years before he retired. He never really left the trade, though. His own cars stayed running because he kept them running, and there wasn't much of a problem in his garage that he didn't eventually get the better of. "Work smarter, not harder", he'd tell you, and then he'd go prove it.

Retirement gave Randy his days back, and he spent them the way he wanted to. He worked his garden. He did his own blacksmithing, coming full circle to where he'd started on that crate. He also had company for most of it. Ginger, his dog, went where he went, and if the truck was moving, she was in it. He counted her as one of his own, and when she died, he grieved her like family, because that's what she was.

The only place Ginger couldn't follow him was on the Harley. He bought the bike one fateful day in February, having never ridden one before in his life, and apparently, February in Illinois is not the month for learning. A couple of guys from the dealership held him up, told him to keep moving and not stop, and he did exactly that...that is, until he ran into snow in Russellville, at which point he went down and broke his foot. He answered to "Boom-Boom" ever after. He went on rides as far as Florida and Colorado, but most of his miles were the ones close to home. He called that bike "Darlin," and anybody who knew him understood he wasn't kidding.

It was one of the few things he wasn't kidding about. Randy loved a good prank, and the Wabash River gave him plenty of room to work. He ran nets there in constant competition with the other men, and when he and his buddy hauled in a catch worth talking about, he told everybody the secret was white grapes. It wasn't. But good luck buying a white grape around here the next day. His kids weren't safe either. He'd make up a word, hand them a long and convincing definition to go with it, and then sit back and wait. They'd carry that word around for a while before realizing they'd been using a word nobody else had ever heard of.

That was the joy in him, and there was a lot of it. He loved to laugh, and he brought light into every room he walked into. But if you only knew that side of him, you didn't know him. After all, Randy was someone you could count on. If you were his friend, you were his friend for life, and there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for you. He had a saying for it. "You've got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything." Plenty of people can say that. Randy lived it. He stood up for his kids, for the men he worked with, for his friends, and he stood behind every word he ever gave you.

He met his soulmate, Brenda Murphy, in 1982, and they were married in July of 1987. She survives, as do his two daughters, Kandice (Chuck) Richey and Michele (George) Hayes; his son, Jassen Daugherty; his grandchildren, Gage (Heather) Daugherty, Roanna (Rylan) Matheney, Curtis Richey, Jon Langley, Kristi V. Daugherty, Steven (Sabrina) Daugherty, Marissa Daugherty (Tommy Shaw), Miranda (Jimmy) Hyde, Neal Bailey, Brandon Bailey, and Mary (Richard) Snow; his sister, Karen (Steve) Martin; his brother, Greg (Janis) Daugherty; as well as several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Lester "Skip" Daugherty and Doris Daugherty-Matheney, and his sister, Kristi Daugherty.

A graveside service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, July 20th, at the Palestine Cemetery, with Celebrant Curt Goodwine officiating. Randy hated dressing up, and the family asks that attendees honor him by not doing so either. Memorials may be made to Crawford County Animal Control, and envelopes will be available at the cemetery. The Goodwine Funeral Home in Robinson is assisting the family at this time.