Randall Jeffery Straff – 50th Reunion Essay

Randall Jeffery Straff

Date of Death: 22-Jul-2016

College: Jonathan Edwards

(This obituary was published by the Pacific View Memorial Chapel, and appears on the Class Website. The remembrances were submitted by Randy’s JE classmates to the January/February 2017 Class Notes.)

Randy Straff passed away surrounded by his close friends and caregivers in Lincoln City, Oregon. Straff was raised in Southern California. After graduating from high school at Garden Grove, he attended Yale University where he earned his BA in English and Business and received numerous scholastic awards. Returning to Southern California he owned and operated his own business for seven years. Later he became a longtime resident of Las Vegas, Nevada establishing his career in marketing, advertising, and public relations, and served as administrator in headline entertainment and celebrity events. At various times he was corporate director of advertising & public relations for Sahara Gaming Corporation, Santa Fe Hotel Casino, and a director of media for Trans Ocean Travel & Leisure Corporation. Early on he worked as studio manager for both Dino De Laurentiis Corporation and Paramount Pictures. Mr. Straff also was Media Director for Cody & Associates Productions in Las Vegas and directed projects for Virginia City and New York. While in Las Vegas, Mr. Straff served as a Republican National Convention Delegate. He lived out his retirement years in Lincoln City Oregon.

Throughout his life Randall enjoyed traveling to other countries, as well as the short times, early on, when he lived and worked in Portland, Oregon and New York City. He was an avid baseball fan.

Remembrances from JE: Randy Straff died this summer on the coast of Oregon, where he lived his last years battling cancer. Randy was bright, witty, and compassionate. He loved horses and the ocean. A native of Southern California, Randy had a career in film and advertising. Randy started his career in film production with the Dino De Laurentiis organization and Russ Meyer, and left that field after several years, holding a variety of marketing roles in real estate and entertainment. At Yale, he received an academic scholarship for his English major, which he always treasured as a special opportunity. A group of JE classmates gathered in his memory over the last weekend of September at Half Moon Bay, California. We soaked up the great weather along with telling various Randy stories, treasuring our friendship dating from Bingham Hall. He was a fun-loving character and always had a knack for getting us all together for a party, even after his passing. The gathering JE classmates were: Wayne Willis, Nathan Gans, Steve Haworth, Eric Lenck, Dave Joseph, and John Nelson… with Frank Aronson and Randy’s special buddy Paul Gennis in absentia, but with us in spirit.