Randall "Randy" Pease

Randall "Randy" Pease, a prolific poet, passionate teacher, dogged carpenter and fearless fruit tree pruner, died peacefully in Sacramento Nov. 8 after a series of illnesses. He was 64. Randy was born in Brockton, MA, but spent most of his youth in Kensington, CT and Oak Bluffs, MA. and graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in English. A lover of literature, Randy was often seen with a paperback Russian novel in his back pocket, even while pruning apple trees or laying down cedar shingles atop a roof. In 1986 he married Dorsey Griffith, a newspaper reporter, with whom he shared his life for 22 years, working and living on the island of Martha's Vineyard, MA, Santa Fe, NM, Modesto and Sacramento, CA. Together they had two beautiful and talented children, Molly, in 1990, and Max, in 1995. In 1994 Randy put his English degree to work as a teacher at Charles M. Goethe (now Rosa Parks) Middle School and later West Campus High School in Sacramento. In 2007, his career was cut short when he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. Still, he went on to earn a master's degree in poetry from Sacramento State University. He wrote hundreds of poems, several poetry chapters and published a book with his sister, painter Marnie Berman, called Ornithology. Divorced in 2009, Randy moved back to his beloved Martha's Vineyard where he built a home in Harthaven, much of it on his own. But health problems led him back to California in June 2016 to be closer to his children. Even in his last months, when the words and references he reached for in his mind were elusive, Randy kept a notebook and pen at the ready, filling page after page with his search for purpose and worth, expressions of faith and unwavering delight in and love for his family. In addition to his children and ex-wife, Randy is survived by his sisters Carlie Pease (David Revenaugh) and Marnie Berman (Mark), brother Hoyt Pease (Lesley) of Connecticut, and father, Allen Pease (Debby) of Massachusetts. He was pre-deceased by his mother, Beverly Williams of South Carolina. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sacramento Children's Chorus, 25 Cadillac Dr., Sacramento, 95825.