Obituary of Randall Lee Robinson

Randall “Randy” Lee Robinson’s spirit left his body on June 21st, 2025 at his home in Bath, Michigan. He was 68 years old. He fought a good fight against cancer in 2022 and won…but it came back, and it just wasn’t in the cards to beat it twice. 

Randy was born in 1957 to Clint and Jeanne Robinson in Lansing, Michigan. He grew up with his sister, Sandy, and brother, Jim in Williamston. He is remembered fondly for splitting Sandy’s lip open with a well-aimed toy shovel at age four. His parents ran the roller rink in town and the amusement park that was nearby. The amusement park was shut down before he was big enough to ride the roller coaster so his Dad snuck him on. He would tell that story, and many others about the roller rink, frequently. He kept his Dad’s roller skates and pulled them out a few years ago because he insisted he still had it. Upon putting them on and standing up he said, “Mmmm…. maybe not.” 

Randy loved to ride his dirt bike with his buddies, enjoyed many Stroh’s and lived life to the fullest. Even though he had a lot of fun times with friends, Randy also had a very strong work ethic. As a teenager he worked at Ron’s Service Station in Williamston where he started a life-long love of working with his hands. He bought a Ford Fairlane and, in exchange for his employment, used the service station to rebuild the car himself. He worked for Michigan Glass in his younger years and eventually started repairing Harvestores (those big blue metal silos on farms). He married Lori Stubbert in 1983, and moved to Western New York with a crew of Michiganders, where he established himself as a “go-to” in the Harvestore world. Shortly after moving to New York he started his own Harvestore repair business, Robinson’s Service, which he ran solo until 1993. But he needed a partner and one who wouldn’t scare easily (as doing a dig out in a full silo can be scary). He found that partner in Mike O’kussick. The two of them forged a friendship as strong as blood that has spanned decades. After Robinson’s Service, Randy learned to weld stainless steel and traveled the country as a contractor building milk parlors on farms, both rotary and traditional. He became a subject matter expert in his field. When he moved back to Michigan in 2017 he joined Roberts Dairy Service out of St. Johns, Michigan. There he continued to weld stainless and teach others how to do the same. He was a great teacher who could take a “dumbass” and mold them into someone who “actually understood their ass from their elbow.” He always said he would never retire and would work until the day he died. This proved to be almost true when he went on Hospice May 21st and said, “Well, I guess I should probably retire now.” Less than 36 hours before his death, when a couple of work buddies were visiting, he was asked if he was ready to go back to work. He said yes. 

In 1986, Randy and Lori welcomed their daughter Rachel, or, as Randy called her ‘Punkin’.  Rachel loved her Daddy-o. He made the best grilled cheese sandwiches in the entire world, was a world class jack-o-lantern carver, and he knew exactly who put the bomp in the bomp shoo bomp shoo bomp (if you don’t know…it was that man). In 2007, Randy gained a son (in-law) he thought the world of named Adam.  He knew he didn’t have to worry about his Punkin. Randy was an amazing man, a loyal friend, a great father and the best Bumpa ever to his two grandkids, Cain and Eberly. When Rachel was pregnant with Cain and told Randy he was going to be a Grandpa, she asked him what he wanted to be called. His response? 

“Well, I am not very grand… I am more of a bum… how about Bumpa?” 

He cherished every minute with his grandkids. Christmas 2023, he wasn’t sure what to get for presents. It was decided that an “experience gift” would be better than random stuff.  May 2024, Randy took Adam, Rachel, Cain and Eberly to Mackinac Island. No one knew that it would be the last time the grandkids saw their Bumpa, but it was the perfect trip and an even better last memory. 

Randy loved to play golf but more than golf…he loved to hunt. His house in New York was “hunting camp” and every fall he and his buddies hung their deer in his shop. When asked what Bumpa’s favorite holiday season was, his grandkids would respond “Hunting Season!”  Randy made the New York State record book in 2003 and that buck, known to all as Bullwinkle, hung on the wall for over 20 years. After he moved back to Michigan, and no longer had the “hunting camp”, he continued his passion with his brothers (in-law) Mike and Mark. He rode motorcycles the majority of his life and was a proud member of the Eagle Riders out of Williamston. He was first in line for their steak dinners and enjoyed working concession stands with his fellow Eagles.

Randy is survived by too many friends and family members to name. He was much loved by those who knew him and we are all dealing with a Randy sized hole in our hearts. There are also too many friends and family members who preceded him in death. Rachel knows that, when he got to the pearly gates, he hugged the snot out of his little brother, Jim and cracked open a beer with Tim, Roger and Skeeter. Several beloved pets also greeted him at the end of the Rainbow Bridge.

The Michigan Celebration of Life will be Saturday, November 22nd, 2025 at 2:00. Fraternal Order of the Eagles 835 High St. Williamston, MI. The New York Celebration of Life will be Saturday, June 20th, 2026 at 2:00. 11479 Robinson Ln. Lyndonville, NY. Dress casual, Randy wouldn’t want anyone trying to be fancy in a suit or dress and be uncomfortable. Please write down a story or memory (or several) about him and bring it. A memory book will be made for his children and grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, which will just die like Randy, please drink a cold one in his honor. If monetary donation is more your style, please donate to the Michigan Youth Sportsman Competition (www.michiganysc.com/about) so the next generation of hunters can learn how to safely, and ethically, kill Bambi’s parents. 

Lastly, to the Detroit Lions... If you guys could pull off a Super Bowl win for Randy, that would be great.

To sign online guestbook, visit  www.cremationsocietymidmi.com. Arrangements made with Cremation Society of Mid-Michigan.