Randall E. Hill

He is survived by his children, Heather Haselton of Morrisville, Eric Hill of Milton, Melissa Hill Hyudo of Japan, Ollie Hill of Williston, and Ashley Hill of Morrisville; a sister, Holly Hill, of Colorado; an aunt, Doris Hill, of Hanover N.H.; as well as nieces, nephews, cousins and friends in Vermont, Colorado, and beyond; and his good friends and “adopted sons” Adam and Nic.

Randy was a complex man. He was charming, hard-working and had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. But he was also stubborn, hot-headed and self-serving. He had a fascination with machines and how things operated, but he had his addictions and his demons.

He was an adept problem solver, which served him well as he spent most of his working life as a maintenance and repair technician. He knew how everything worked. And if he didn’t, he bought a book and he learned. He was an avid reader and known to most as an avid fan of Stephen King and J.R.R Tolkien. But he was often at odds with his own intelligence and struggled to apply himself at the level he knew he was capable.

Despite his 59 short years, he lived a full and colorful life for the comparably few that he got. He was well-traveled — from the lobsters of Maine to the sands of New Mexico — traversing the country from end-to-end, in his truck and on his motorcycle, sleeping on roadsides, campsites and out of the bed of the pickup.

He made friends everywhere he went, and with his extroverted nature he easily made friends with anyone. If you knew him, you probably liked him. If you knew him for a long time, you probably hated him — at least at some point. If you stuck around long enough, you may have learned to like him again.

While death has a way of absolving the sins from the sinner, we bring ourselves no benefit or resolve by dwelling on the negatives of a life lived. Whether to the betterment or detriment to those around him, the truth remains that Randy was a charming renegade with a magnetic personality who either attracted or repelled everyone he met, with a gift to make every stranger feel like a lifelong friend.

A memorial gathering will be held in 2022, with interment being planned at Fairview Cemetery in East Calais, alongside his parents and elder sister. In lieu of flowers, a GoFundMe has been established by Randy’s son, Eric, to help cover the cost of these expenses as well as his final arrangements.

A link to the GoFundMe page as well as updates on future memorial plans will be found on Randy’s Facebook page.