Randy Ray Dunn of Orlando, FL passed away on August 15, 2022 at the age of 69. Randy was born on December 4, 1952 in Portsmouth, OH. He graduated from Glenwood High School in New Boston, OH in 1971. He married his wife Debra (“Debbie”) Sue Colley in 1980, and they had two children, Heather Renee Dunn (1981) and Jeremy Wayne Dunn (1984).
Randy was a hard worker and was always willing to help someone in need. When he was a student in high school, he mowed the neighbors’ lawns, delivered newspapers, and stocked shelves and bagged groceries at Blackburn Market. After he graduated, he worked at Pittsburgh Plate Glass, then at Browning, and then as a bartender for a while. He spent the next 12 years in Ohio working as a correctional officer at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility. He moved with his family to Winter Park, FL in 1990. He then started his own lawn care company, Dunn-Rite Lawn Care, a family business. He owned and operated his small business for many years before he transferred ownership of the company to his son. He then worked as a groundskeeper at Chapel Hill Cemetery in Orlando for a while before he retired.
Randy loved to have a good time and he loved to joke around. Before one of his patented pranks, he would lean in and whisper, “Hey, watch this.” And then he would smile big and do whatever he had planned. He could fix almost anything, and he could often be found working on something that had broken down around the house or in the driveway. He was proud of himself when he could jerry-rig something his own way, especially if it involved duct tape or WD-40. He grilled a good steak, made the best chili, and cooked a mean pot of navy or pinto beans with spicy cornbread in his perfectly seasoned cast iron skillet. He loved fireworks on the 4th of July and dressing up to hand out candy and scare trick-or-treaters on Halloween. He enjoyed playing cards (Pedro and Spades), Chinese checkers, bowling, and shooting pool. He loved watching anything with Charles Bronson or Sam Elliott, the old Night Stalker, and his favorite movie, Road House. He liked country music, old time rock & roll, and he absolutely adored listening to Patsy Cline on his 8-track stereo. His signature style was a tucked-in t-shirt and/or flannel shirt with blue jeans (plenty of pockets for his cigarettes, lighter, pocket knife, keys, and wallet), and brown leather cowboy boots with a matching belt. He sported a mustache his whole life, kept his hair tame with men’s Consort hairspray, and smelled like British Sterling or Brut cologne. He had a solid personal brand before personal branding was a thing, and he never considered changing who he was for anyone. He had his fair share of challenges in life, as many humans do, but he did the best he could with what he had, and that was enough.
Randy was predeceased by his father, Thurman Grant Dunn; mother, Geneva Mae Dunn; brother, Gary Wayne Dunn; grandparents, Charles Osborne and Carrie Craig Osborne; aunt, Opal VanHoose and uncle, Frank “June” VanHoose, Jr.; aunt, Frances (Orville) Hendrickson; and brother-in-law, Jerry Colley. He is survived by his wife, Debra (Debbie) Sue Dunn of Winter Park, FL; daughter, Heather Renee Dunn McKinney (husband Scott and stepdaughter Katie) of New York, NY; son, Jeremy Wayne Dunn of Winter Park, FL; sister-in-law, Jill Dunn and nephew, Gary Wayne Dunn II of Winter Park, FL; cousin, Sue Hendrickson Hughes (and family) of Tollesboro, KY; and sister-in-law, Kim Colley Phillips (and family), sister-in-law, Karen Colley (and family), and brother-in-law, Steve Colley, of Ohio.
His family and friends will miss his sense of humor and (some of) his shenanigans, but they take comfort in knowing he is no longer in pain. There will be no public funeral or memorial service. If you’d like to honor his memory, we suggest you put on your favorite Patsy Cline song and raise a glass (bottle of beer, shot of Crown Royal, or Vernors ginger ale) for one last, “Cheers!”