We met Randy and Grace through playing badminton in the 1980s.  At the time we were playing at Scadding Court community centre every Sunday afternoon, and after the badminton session, would gather at their house with children in tow to share pizza and drinks.   Most of us are Chinese and Randy would be the only non-Chinese there, but we often said he was more Chinese than Chinese, since he loved Chinese food so much.  We would forget and sometimes just spoke Chinese to him.   

We played badminton with Randy for many, many years.  He was an extremely good player, and great organizer.  He always took the time to make sure everyone had equal time to play and had a fun time.  Randy was a natural leader and had the respect of all those on the court.  

Randy was a somewhat legendary figure among the badminton players.  When most of us were in our starter homes, he was already the owner of several downtown income properties, having the foresight to have bought them dirt cheap.  He walked around with dozens of keys dangling from his belt, and  thousands of dollars in cash in his pocket.

Beneath Randy's no nonsense attitude and sometimes scruffy exterior lay a gentle and generous heart.  He was especially kind and caring to young people.  When our son Dan published his first book and had a book reading downtown in 2019, Randy was there to attend his reading and bought a copy of his book!  (And he actually took the time to read it and gave me his honest opinion that he did not like it because the book had a grim ending, and that people read to be entertained. He was so right.)

Randy was a unique one-of-a-kind person and a true friend.  We will miss him but the memories of good times on the court and many dinner evenings will live on in our hearts!

My memory of a dear friend Randy is vivid and sharp.  He was absolutely one of a kind remarkable person.  He was talkative and his favorite expression 'turkey '. 

Randy was smart enough to buy a house in downtown Chinatown then rebuilt it. Since Katy's grandma lived in a senior home close by. We would ask for permission to park at his drive way. 

For someone who talked so much, you would think he was just an ordinary Joe on the street. Once you got to know him, his chat (at that time WeChat was still unknown) was of substance but interlaced with jokes.

I missed his jokes and his turkeys !!

Our friendship with Randy goes back more than four decades. We have had a great deal of good times together. There were the playing on the badminton court and then the eating at the post-game pizza parties at his house. There were also the many gatherings at the Buie family farm, where fresh produce was enjoyed by all. Our children grew up together and we attended each other’s kids’ weddings. These are just a few of the more memorable occasions.

 The Randy we get to know is kind, generous, smart, knowledgeable and business-savvy.

An example of his kindness is with Dr. & Mrs. Pang, an elderly couple who joined our badminton group after retirement. Randy knew there were chores to be done around their house. He would show up with an “excuse” like “just happen to be going to a nearby bank.” Then he would get down to work on whatever needed to be fixed.

When we visited him at his house, we would park somewhere around the property, usually without any problem. Once, for some unknown reason, our car was ticketed. Randy just said: “Give the ticket to me” and paid it himself. This is an example of his generosity.

Randy was a really good man and truly one-of-a-kind. He will live on in our collective memory for a long, long time!

I met Randy when he was running the Presbyterian Church badminton club between 2015 and 2019. At the time, I had just moved from Montreal to Toronto with no connections in the city, social life took a toll. Though I honestly can't remember exactly how, perhaps through word of mouth, I discovered Randy's badminton club, I am fairly sure this wasn't the club's official name, but that's what everyone affectionately called it. Randy immediately welcomed me into the community he had created. 

I came to the club diligently every Tuesday and Thursday, playing until the very end. Afterwards, we would all head to King's Noodle, where Randy would treat us to late-night wonton noodle soup. As a matter of fact, and I hope this doesn't get him in trouble, he also seldom charged the badminton club entry fee he was supposed to collect. His goal wasn't to make money, but to build a warm, welcoming community for everyone who shared the same passion. And I wasn't alone in feeling this way. Over the years, the club grew organically into a social gathering place where people often dropped by just to hang out. People got married, had kids, moved out of the downtown core—but the one constant was this community that Randy had built, where we gathered diligently every week.

As a friend, Randy was kind and always witty, with an "old uncle joke" always under his sleeve. His famous summer BBQs have always been one of my peak summer highlights ever since moving to Toronto. さようなら, Randy, you will be deeply missed. Your passion for caring each individual and building genuine community will carry with me forever.

Randy gave me my 1st business opportunity as canteen worker at his "TEEN"  dances with D.J. "Rick."  Randy organized and managed these events to help the teens to socialize during summers in Atikokan.  He also booked bands and ventured once  to the town of Fort France

Randy returned from  university to work afternoon shifts at the iron ore mine. He shared his new knowledge of "EUCHRE" with us, playing from 11: pm to the wee hour.  It was a passionate card game for all!