Randal "Randy" Dale Mahurin

Randy Dale Mahurin, 68, of Spring Hill, Florida, died suddenly and unexpectedly on January 10, 2024, due to complications after surgery. Randy had a determined and inquisitive nature and was actively planning his next travel adventure, together with Shanda, his beloved wife of 27 years. Randy embraced life with a positive and hopeful attitude, in spite of chronic pain. He hoped to live to a very old age, get his face on a Smucker's Jar on the Today Show and visit and revisit many amazing parts of this incredible world!

Randy began life on August 18, 1955, in Kirksville, Missouri, where he loved to spend time on his grandparents’ farm, or visit with his extended family. He had wonderful childhood memories from his time in Missouri and returned many times throughout his life.

When Randy was seven, his parents (Charlene Ruth Fiedler Mahurin and Ronald Stanley Mahurin) moved to Richmond, Virginia, where Randy and his sister Sharla grew up. He was briefly a Boy Scout (his Mom was his Den Mother), played saxophone and flute, and marched in the band for D. S. Freeman High School, attended a Presbyterian Church and had several newspaper routes that lasted for years. He and his Mom had a huge garden and both enjoyed cooking. Randy graduated High School in 1973. He made lasting friends, embraced music with a passion (primarily loud classic rock and roll and reggae), attended concerts, formed a band with some friends, and began his love affair with riding his Honda GoldWing and road racing motorcycles. He enjoyed learning about other cultures, had a depth of knowledge and was articulate on a wide range of topics, and embraced life, sometimes with a wild abandon. He celebrated and studied his Native American heritage, making several trips to the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Randy was devoted to good health, becoming a vegetarian and then a vegan even as a teenager.

Randy moved several times after graduation, living in Columbia, Missouri; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Miami and Key West, Florida. Eventually, he settled back in Richmond, Virginia, still racing and working as the manager of a motorcycle dealership. After too many crashes, he had one that nearly took his ability to walk, and almost his life. After that, Randy gave up motorcycles, bought a series of motorhomes and became an avid RVer. He studied motorhomes with a passion. He also loved Siberian Huskies. Over thirty years, he had two, both named Kilo. One of Randy’s great joys was walking with Kilo at Deep Run Park (RVA) or anywhere across the USA and Canada. He and Shanda walked many trails in their travels, with Lady (Shanda’s Dalmatian) and Kilo in the lead.

When Randy met Shanda in 1997, she was the Rev. Shanda Carignan, Interim Rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, New Kent, Virginia, and also a Chaplain with Hospice of Central Virginia. Randy was always a spiritual seeker, and on his knees every day (literally)! He embraced the Episcopal Church, finding his spiritual home with Shanda and the church she served. They both found a travel partner, too, since she too was dreaming of a life of travel once her kids were on their own. Soon they were planning life “on the open road” together.

After marriage at St. Paul’s in Richmond, where Shanda had served as Associate Rector for nine years, they set out as full-time RVers in their motorhome. They crisscrossed the USA and Canada for 6 years. During that time they returned to RVA many times to visit family. Randy took Shanda to Alaska, showing her all the many places he had loved on a previous trip. Together they enjoyed the Black Hills in South Dakota, the beaches and waterways of Florida, the lakes and mountains of western Canada, the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and anywhere where nature and beauty and animals were in abundance. Randy loved the sun and warm weather. If he wasn’t driving or exploring, he was probably sunbathing. After three and a half years on the road, Shanda took a position at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Marco Island, Florida, where Randy made many friends and came to deeply love the Episcopal liturgy and parish life. They bought a house and a boat, made friends and loved life, still RVing when they could. In 2005, Shanda was called to be Rector of St. Andrew’s in Spring Hill, Florida. Randy served as an Usher, Greeter and Sound System operator. He did the house-hunting and found their home (now of 17 years) with the pool they both loved immensely. They still traveled abroad on vacations and during Shanda’s Sabbatical.

After Shanda’s retirement in 2012, they volunteered at a local animal rescue and fostered several dogs, grew orchids, enjoyed their pool, fed the birds, had wonderful travels in southwest Florida, Mexico, Hawaii and Panama, along with many, many trips to RVA, of course. They walked a lot, played Mexican Train Dominoes, listened to loud Rock and Roll and beautiful classical, sacred, jazz and other music, watched endless YouTube travel videos, studied nutrition, supported many causes, attended St. Martin’s in Hudson, Florida, got through a number of difficult health issues, and were planning to travel again after recovering from this latest surgery.

Even though he was always looking forward to his next adventure, Randy was devoted to time with his family, especially his three step-children Jeremy Carignan (Jennifer), Shantih Hughes (Mikey) and Benjamin Carignan, his sister Sharla Hall (Chip), his seven grandchildren (to whom he was Pepe’) Jacob Lowry, Khalee and Khalysia Brown, Khameren and Khamaya Hughes, and Brooklyn and Joseph Carignan, his two great grandchildren, Leilani and Brixton Lowry, his niece and nephew Chad Kidd (Anastasia) and Lyndsie Blakely (Josh), as well as his great-nephews Noah and Jeremiah Blakely. Randy had a special love for Shanda’s cousin Judith Rodgers and Shanda’s niece Lisa Cuevas (Memo) and family. Before their deaths, he loved spending time with his Mother-in-law Victoria Heiser, his sister-in-law Vicki Thompson (Jim), later Vicki Shaw (Don) and Philip Rodgers, his “cousin-in-law”. His friends and his loves, his hopes and dreams and his plans are too many to mention. He truly is gone too soon. His favorite activity in life was loving, caring for, protecting and enjoying his wife Shanda. He did it with all his heart and he did it well!

When asked once to write down how he wanted to be remembered, he wrote, “I tried to be honest always! I loved my wife Shanda always and very much! I embraced life and loved RVing. I loved to travel the world and meet new people.” Mission accomplished! “Well done, good and faithful servant.” May Randy’s memory be a blessing and may it remind us to live life to the fullest now, honestly and with humility, gentle compassion, and generosity, always laughing and loving and moving forward together with those we love.