Randy Michael Deebel, 75
Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 1 month, 3 weeks AGO
Randy Michael Deebel, 75, passed away Aug. 30, 2025, succumbing to an aggressive bladder cancer.
Born in Culver City, California, the first of three sons, the family moved to McKenzie River, Oregon, in the 1960s. With his high school diploma in one hand and a draft notice in the other, he enlisted in the US Air Force and served three years at Lakenheath, England, where he attained the rank of staff sergeant as a weapons mechanic.
Following his service, he returned to Oregon and began working in the food service industry. He enjoyed cooking and worked at several prominent central Oregon resorts, where he met and married Connie Rae Thomas in 1976. The couple moved to Eureka in 1979 and built a beautiful log home in the woods where their one son, Collin Edward, was born.
Randy worked at several jobs before becoming a lift operator at Gwynn Lumber and Reload, where he worked for 26 years. He was an integral influence in the company, organizing their yard operations and maintaining safety procedures.
He retired in 2012 and returned to his home property where he maintained his tree farm equipment, numerous vehicles and motorcycles. He sold firewood and always had a load of scrap iron to finance his shopping trips to Kalispell.
Randy was known for his dry wit that stayed with him since his years in England and his straightforward moral values.
Randy and Connie were in their 50th year of marriage at the time of his passing.
A brief remembrance and memorial salute will be held at noon on Saturday, Oct. 18, at the Veterans Memorial Park in Eureka.