Randy Blaine Ward, age 60, of Kansas City, Missouri, gained his angel wings on Wednesday, December
13, at St. Luke’s Heart Institute in Kansas City.

Randy was born on October 31, 1963, in Leslie, Arkansas to Blaine H. Ward and Christine Collins Ward.
Until Randy was 10 years old, the Ward family lived in different places, including Clinton, Arkansas, and
Indianapolis, Indiana. In fourth grade, Randy became a student at Marshall Public Schools, where he
attended until his graduation in 1983.

After graduation, Randy began a career in the food services industry, primarily working for Church’s
Chicken in Kansas City. Randy was the manager who helped Church’s resolve problems and make
struggling Church’s restaurants profitable throughout the Kansas City metropolitan area.

After a few years, Randy decided to trade the long hours and low pay of fast food for a career in
trucking. He earned his CDL and for over 30 years, drove 18-wheelers in the District of Columbia and all
48 states of the contiguous United States. In his final position as a truck driver, Randy worked for a
contractor of the United States Postal Service. Granted a federal security clearance, Randy was one of
the company’s principal drivers, moving truckloads of mail from Kansas City to other Midwestern cities,
including St. Louis, Des Moines, Wichita, and Tulsa.

In his spare time, Randy enjoyed sightseeing in the Midwest with his wife, Tracey. He also spent hours of
each week caring for the birds and other wild animals that visited his and Tracey’s home. Some of these
animals developed such a rapport with Randy that he named them. Shorty the Squirrel, Dudley the
Raccoon, and Cecil the Possum are just a few of the many animals that shared a special bond with
Randy, along with his darling Burmese kitty, Condi.

Randy also enjoyed landscaping, and his rosebushes, spiraeas, coreopsis, and other plants were so
remarkable that random strangers routinely stopped by his and Tracey’s yard to compliment Randy’s
landscaping skills. In addition to working in his own yard, Randy was an active member of the
Greenhaven Neighborhood Association Board and did volunteer work to help his neighbors keep their
yards and common areas in tiptop shape. Randy also was an active participant in the neighborhood’s
benevolent activities, such as efforts to help the area’s homeless people.

Randy’s survivors include his wife, Tracey; two sisters, Deniece Sikes and Debbie Ward Penny (Steve);
two brothers, Keith (Linda) and Mike; his goddaughter, Randi Bowlin; and many nieces and nephews.
Randy was preceded in death by his grandparents, parents, and brother-in-law, Ron Sikes.

Randy’s services will include a celebration of life at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 30, at the Marshall
Community Church on Zack Road. In the spring, Randy will be honored with an additional service in
Kansas City, where his ashes will be combined with those of Condi, and a tree will be planted in the
Greenhaven Neighborhood in his and Condi’s honor. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to
one of Randy’s favorite charities: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
(https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html), Metro Lutheran Ministry
(https://mlmkc.org/donate/), or Wayside Waifs (https://secure.waysidewaifs.org/site/Donation2).