Randol “Randy” Victor Benjamin Barnhill, 60, departed this world to join his mother, Carolyn, in a better world, on November 13, 2021. He was born May 20, 1961 in Ft. Worth, as Randol Vernon Bradley. His parents adopted him at age 2 and changed his name. He was raised in Napa, California.
Randol joined the U.S. Navy in 1979 where he met his future wife and life-long companion, Carmel Barker, who was also in the Navy. They married October 26, 1984. Randol served 20 years in the Navy, from 1979 – 1999.
He was proud of his time in the service and retired as an AS1 with 20 years of good conduct. The couple moved to Amarillo, Carmel’s home, in 1999 and made it his own. He worked as a school bus driver for Amarillo ISD and Amarillo City Transit. He loved his job and the people he worked with at Amarillo Transit. He worked there 5 years until his health caused him to retire. Not many people knew of his illness. He never talked about it or made excuses for it.
Randol also loved working with his hands on cars, motorcycles and woodworking and stayed busy. He was a good provider and did everything he could to make sure his wife would be taken care of when he wasn’t there.
Randol was very talented and had a good sense of humor. He was thoughtful and encouraged his family, including two daughters, to do what they loved. That included his wife, who he encouraged to start a small business making pens, which they enjoyed together.
He was preceded in death by his father Billy L. Barnhill; mother, Carolyn Williams; aunts, uncles and grandparents.
He leaves behind his wife of 37 years, Carmel Barnhill of Amarillo; two daughters, Carolyn Johnston of Canyon and Amanda Hutchinson, of Roaring Springs; 13 grandchildren; sisters, Lisa Harris of Buhl, ID; Becky Chase of Quartzsite, AZ, Gina Renfro of Lodi, Ca.; a half-brother, Walter Bradley of AZ,; brother-in-laws, sons-in-law, cousins, nephews, nieces and countless friends. His faithful companion dogs, Goonie, Joey and Groot, also miss him very much.
The family requests donations to the American Lung Association. There was a small memorial held for family and close friends.
He was my strength, my best friend, my comfort and protector. I will miss him until I see him again.
I had to have a long distance relationship with my brother for the last several years. My life has always been California. Jobs, life situations and then later, health issues prevented us from being together as much as we would have liked. I will always be thankful we stayed in contact by phone, text and email. His passing is a heavy blow to the family, as we”re still grieving the loss of our mom 4 months ago. I was looking forward to seeing Randy & Carmel in the spring. We will still be making the trip; it will be bittersweet, but I really need to make this trip! Randy learned how to be a wonderful husband and dad, from growing up in a home where he saw the example through his own parents. Carmel, like her mother-in-law, was a loving caregiver when her husband needed her due to failing health. Randy, just as our Dad did, left us way too soon. We can’t really wish they were still among us, because they were suffering while here. I have so many beautiful memories of Randy. He always wanted to please those that he loved. I have a great picture of us together when we were about 8 and 10 years old. I convinced him to dress up like a girl, and I dressed up as a boy for halloween. I probably talked him into doing lots of things he shouldn’t have done. As kids, we enjoyed camping as a family every summer at Uncle Clair’s property in Northern California. It was a family reunion with Grandparents and aunts and uncles on every trip. Randy was very proud of his daughters and all his grandchildren. I know his regret was that he knew he wasn’t well enough to get together and visit, and that he knew he wouldn’t see them grow up.
Best little brother ever, and will be missed very much.
Randy had what I thought as a kid a cool bedroom. It had a curtain for a door, was small and felt like a little playhouse. I remember my sister Kim, Gina, Lisa and I all telling Randy to get out because we wanted to play in the room! ?♀️? He was a good kid with a kind heart. After I turned 18 and got married I moved away and didn’t see Randy except for a few times when I came to visit family after that. That went the same for Lisa, Becky and Gina and I missed them all terribly! I’m glad they lived down the street from me and that I got to grow up with all of the Barnhill kids! I love them all and feel so sad that they lost their mother and brother within such a short time. But, I know they’re in heaven with each other and happy now. I just hope my sister Kim finds them and they can reminisce about us growing up together. ❤️