Randall E. Domke

Randall (Randy) Edward Domke, ("RD" to his many friends) from Hammond, Minnesota died peacefully on Monday, November 15th, 2021, at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, Minnesota with his loving wife by his side. A stroke took him from us too soon -- he was 61 years young. Randy is survived by his wife, Janice of Hammond; daughters, Shawn (Jeremy) Jensen of Plainview, Mickel (Jeremy) Thompson of Mantorville, Phoebe (Jason) Wagner of Rochester, and sons Chad Domke (Stephanie Hauschildt) of Zumbro Falls, and Miles Farris of Rochester, as well as his mother, LaVonne Domke residing in Plainview, and brother, James Domke of Hammond. He enjoyed his eleven grandchildren, Andrew, Kennedy, Mattison and Savanah Jensen, Ryker and Brody Thompson, Juniper, George and Alfred Wagner and Nicole and Emma Hauschildt. He is also survived by his aunt, Joanne Laskowski of Rochester, and many cousins. Randy lived his entire life in Hammond or the surrounding area. He loved Ford trucks, hunting, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, playing pool, and being outdoors. He shared these passions with family and friends and is known by many from of years of playing softball in Southeastern Minnesota. It has only been a few years since he hung up his glove. His work ethic was known and experienced by many. He started working at a young age for local farmers, doing chores, plowing fields, and eating homemade meals offered by the farmer's wives. His appetite was legendary, we're told. After graduating from John Marshall High School in 1977, he worked at Mayo Clinic Rochester in the sanitation lab at the Hilton Building. Soon after, he married his first wife, Sheryl Mickow. They divorced 17 years later after having Shawn, Chad and Mickel. A "johnny on the spot" kind of guy, Randy was always there to help people. We are not sure how many people he pulled from ditches, helped move, cut down trees for or whatever else you needed. Generally, if you asked, he came and helped. If you were one of the fortunate people to get Randy's help, he was probably humble about it and had a hard time receiving thanks. It was just who he was. After leaving the Mayo Clinic Rochester in 1996, Randy went into the construction business as a laborer. If you rode around Rochester with him, you were sure to hear stories of the many buildings and walls he helped to create or demolish and restore. His crowning achievement during his construction career was helping to build the Gonda Building from a hole in the ground with Fraser Construction to pouring many loads of concrete up to the 23rd floor with Knutson Construction. In the fall of 1997, Randy started seeing Janice Farris (nee Moody) when she was living in Minneapolis. By spring 1999, she and her children, Phoebe & Miles, moved to Hammond to live with him and Chad, who was still at home. On Valentine's Day 2010, Janice got down on one knee and asked Randy to marry her. Thankfully, he said yes! In 2012, they tied the knot on the Zumbro River - a canoe party wedding! Taking a break from construction in 2005, they bought the Hammond Bar and ran it until spring 2014. He was legendary as a bartender having been doing that work part time for well over 20 years. He may not have known your name, but he knew what you drank, where you were from and how he knew you! He was nicknamed the Silver Fox for his beautiful, long hair, which he took great care of. He returned to construction in the fall of 2014 and was working with Benike Construction of Rochester until just before he became ill and was hospitalized. He LOVED to work! He tracked his steps every day and averaged from 15,000 to 24,000 steps a day. Often, if he set his phone down and walked around without it, he lamented about his steps not "getting counted". Family was important to Randy. Stays at the family cabin up north, fishing, drinking beer and BS'ing with his kids and their friends was a highlight. Trips to the Wisconsin Dells with his kids and later with his grandkids was also a fond memory. He loved playing horseshoes and participated in many Horseshoe Nights at the Hammond Bar. He also enjoyed playing bean bags (also known as corn hole) and drinking beer. He was very competitive! In fact, he even made watching TV with Janice a competitive sport - who knew you could even do that? Randy was a great guy. He was well liked by just about everyone who knew him. His smile, his laugh, that twinkle in his eye and his sense of humor will be greatly missed. He worked hard all his life, he played hard, and he loved well. It was a good life, even if it ended too soon! A Celebration of Life (he HATED funerals!) will be held on Saturday, November 20th from noon to 2:00 PM with a short service at 1:30 PM at the Ranfranz & Vine. Please join us for as long as you like, sharing stories of Randy and laughing with us. He would not want us to stand around crying about his escape from this life. Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home is honored to be serving the Domke family. To share a special memory or condolence, please visit www.ranfranzandvinefh.com