This is a brief memory of Randy Kirkwood who died recently. Randy was a neighbor and fellow design professional, and we got to know each other many years ago. I miss Randy and hope he is out of the pain of cancer.
Kim and I first met Randy and his partner, Bonnie Bernardo, before we even moved to A-park. He was known for creating spectacular Halloween displays which were a must-visit in the neighborhood! Their house was on the corner of Virginia and Falcon, just past the elementary school, so it was a prominent location for giant skulls and creepy constructions.
Randy was a tall guy from Minnesota but grew up in Colorado. He was Norwegian and we had a couple of "uff-da" laughs. During the entire time I knew Randy I never saw him wear long pants. Even in the dead of winter (such as it is in Florida) he wore shorts. Randy lived with Bonnie, who is a landscape architect also.
Randy and Bonnie weren't married until he was in hospice, according to Bonnie, and they married so she would be able to control the estate. Up until then we had known them as partners who owned two houses in the neighborhood, one of which was a rental, and then they purchased a third which they proceeded to renovate.
When Kim and I were designing the Rita we wanted to research tiny houses, so we went to a Tiny House Festival at the St. Johns County Fairgrounds in 2015. Randy and Bonnie came with us and in fact Randy drove. Randy enjoyed seeing the creativity and innovation of the different houses.
At that time Randy would go for a run every day around noon. He liked the hottest part of the day for a run as it gave his workout that much more oomph, he said. I also remember a series of evenings when I would go for a walk (never mind the hottest part of the day) and he was out treating his yard for a particular type of insect. Each day was a different treatment in order to extinguish them from his property. He did it, and the yard was saved.
Randy's landscape practice was centered around a few clients, and he was in continual demand for work, mostly homebuilders and apartment developers. I worked with him on several projects and was very appreciative of his ability to quickly decipher the landscape code of a particular jurisdiction and designed the landscape plan for several projects with me, including the Robinson's residence.
I just spent over an hour going through photographs of Randy, but haven't been able to find one! I swear we took a photo at the Tiny House Festival but I found no photos from that trip. They were either on a different phone or simply vanished.
I remember Randy also being meticulous about his tools in the tool shed behind their home. I helped him with several home projects and he had very specific places where tools went, and his own way of coiling extension cords to prevent tangles. I tried to coil my cords his way and could not. Mine still tangle.
Randy was a solid, strong guy and a good person. If a photo is found I'll add it to this entry.
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