Long-time fire chief Aubrey Randall passes away

Demopolis lost one of its leading citizens as former fire department chief Aubrey Randall passed away at 12:09 a.m. Tuesday.

“He was a heck of a leader,” current Demopolis fire chief Tommy Tate said of Randall. “

Randall, 85, was born in Demopolis and graduated from Linden High School. A Demopolis lifer, Randall ascended to the position of fire chief in 1958 at the appointment of then mayor Ed Bailey and remained in that role until his retirement in 1990. “He gave me my first opportunity back in 1990. He was a great mentor. Not only was he a teacher of the fire service and knowing fire, but I’d say the biggest aspect was knowing all his men. He knew how to mentor and teach them about life. He was as good at that as he was at fire chief. You knew where he stood on a lot of things. He didn’t beat around the bush a whole lot. I think that was a positive trait that he had. He was definitely a people person. He loved people and he loved life.”

Randall remained in Demopolis after his retirement, working as a greeter at Walmart for several years.

“I’ve just always liked Demopolis — it’s home,” Randall told a local reporter in April 2009. “I’ve never thought of living anyplace else.”

Randall served in the United State Army before marrying his wife, Ruth, in 1951. He later worked as an electrician before catching on with the Demopolis Fire Department.

“Daddy was a policeman, and he’d heard that the fire department was looking for some new guys,” Randall recalled during a 2009 interview. “I didn’t know anything about the fire department at all, so I put in an application then went down and interviewed with chief R.W. Brasington. He hired me and trained me and that was what started it all. From day one he always told me, ‘Son, learn everything you can because one day, you may be chief.’”

Randall is survived by his wife Ruth and sons Mike and Terry. He is preceded in death by his son Johnny.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, May 1 at 2:30 p.m. at Gallion Baptist Church with the Rev. Hank Atchison officiating and Kirk Funeral Homes Demopolis Chapel directing. Burial will follow at Demopolis Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be held from 1:30-2:30 p.m. before the service.

Active pallbearers will be Michael Randall, Heath Randall, Byron Randall, Rexx Randall, Mike Baker, Willie Basil and Buster Rhone.

Honorary pallbearers will be the Demopolis Fire Department.