Gordon Randall Kehler

Gordon Randall (Randy) Kehler

1944 - 2024

Shelburne Falls, MA - Randy Kehler, 80, of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, died peacefully at home on July 21, 2024 from complications of ME/CFS.

Randy was born in Bronxville, New York on July 16, 1944 to Elsie (Wharton) Kehler and Gordon Matlack Kehler, the second of four siblings. Randy attended elementary and middle school in Scarsdale, NY before heading to Phillips Exeter Academy for his final two years of high school. He then studied government at Harvard University and graduated cum laude in 1967.

During his Harvard years, Randy's experiences beyond campus influenced him most. These included volunteering with the Harlem chapter of CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), living and working in Roxbury, and spending fifteen months teaching in a camp for Rwandan refugees in western Tanzania. There he also met Congolese families forced from their villages by U.S. warplanes, which opened his eyes to the suffering caused by U.S. militarism.

Randy moved to California in 1967 to begin graduate work at Stanford University but dropped out after three weeks to work full-time in the antiwar movement. While an organizer for the War Resisters' League in San Francisco, Randy returned his draft card to the Selective Service to demonstrate his refusal to fight in Vietnam and urged other young men to do the same. For this he was arrested in 1969. He represented himself on trial, was found guilty and served 22 months in federal prison, where he met many life-long friends and fellow activists. He considered his time in jail the best education he ever had.

Randy moved to western Massachusetts to be co-director of the Woolman Hill School in Deerfield, and hired Betsy Corner, his soon-to-be life partner, to be the garden teacher. At Woolman Hill, he and Betsy took the first steps toward creating the Valley Community Land Trust (VCLT) with Wally and Juanita Nelson. Randy and Betsy married in 1976, and once they had taxable income, began withholding their federal income taxes to redirect those funds to victims of war here and abroad instead of paying for war.

In 1979, Randy became the first director of the Traprock Peace Center and moved to Colrain, where he and Betsy would live on VCLT land for over forty years. Randy continued his life's work as a highly skilled organizer as the National Coordinator of the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign. In his work to change government policy, he became aware of the need to get money out of politics, which led him to over a decade's work promoting campaign finance reform.

Due to their continued war tax redirection, the IRS seized Randy and Betsy's house in Colrain in 1989. Friends and supporters came from far and wide to participate in an 18-month, 24-hour vigil at their Colrain house during which many, including Randy and Betsy, were arrested for acts of nonviolent civil disobedience. In the following years, he continued promoting nonviolence by writing, speaking and teaching and was part of the movement to close down the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. He also took a break from organizing to work as a home health aide, which he also found very gratifying.

Randy and Betsy moved to Shelburne Falls in 2020 to be closer to family. He is survived by his wife Betsy, daughter Lillian Whitsett (Kristian) of Shelburne Falls, brothers Rob (Barbara) of Wolfville, Nova Scotia and Charlie (Kristin) of Kennebunk, Maine and sister Mary Liz of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. His grandchildren, Anneke and Aksel, brought him great joy, and he cherished his connections with his nieces and nephews, Alex, Daniel, Anne, Julia, Laura, Mani, Devin and Mira and with many dear friends.

Many knew Randy for his tireless work for peace, but he will also be remembered for his kindness, curiosity, vulnerability and empathy. Randy wrote, "I've never regretted my youthful actions during the Vietnam War. In fact, I feel grateful that they set me on what's been a lifelong course of actively working to advance a number of pro-peace and pro-democracy projects and organizations." In his memory, please consider taking action to promote peace, democracy and a liveable planet.

Johnson Funeral Home assisted the family with a green burial; a celebration of life will be announced at a later date. His family thanks friends and family for their love and support, as well as the staff at Charlene Manor, Pioneer Valley Hospice, and KIZ Helping Hands for their care.

Photo credit: Gabriel A. Cooney