Randall Stanton Weseman

** Friends, family, and community members are invited to a celebration of Randy Weseman’s life at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5, 2022, at the Lied Center, 1600 Stewart Drive, Lawrence, KS 66045. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. for those who wish to visit memory tables in the lobby prior to the ceremony in the auditorium. Following the 6:30 p.m. ceremony, a toast will be made in the lobby of the Lied Center.
Randall Stanton Weseman, 72, passed away on January 23, 2022, surrounded by his wife and children who cared for and supported him during a hard-fought battle with lymphoma.  **

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Randall Stanton Weseman, 72, passed away on January 23, 2022, surrounded by his wife and children who cared for and supported him during a hard-fought battle with lymphoma.  A Celebration of Randall’s life will be held at 6:30 p.m. on the evening  of Saturday, March 5, 2022 at the Lied Center.

Randy was born in Garden City, KS on August 23, 1949, to Donald George and Eleanor Mae (Beahm) Weseman. He spent his early childhood in Spokane, WA before moving with his mother and younger brother, Scott, to Dighton, KS. Randy and his brother were raised by their single mother in humble circumstances. While still in high school, Randy moved from the family home and played in a band on weekends traveling to western Kansas venues with his older bandmates. He used his band earnings to help support his mother and brother. He was heavily influenced during his high school years by Al Cook, high school teacher and coach, who embodied the unique gift of being tough while also being kind and caring and whose influence affected Randy his entire life.

In 1968, Randy attended Hutchinson Community College for one semester before joining the United States Air Force. He completed two tours of duty in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. While still in the Air Force and stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, he took classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. After discharge from the Air Force, Randy used the GI Bill to complete his undergraduate work at the University of Kansas where he later completed his graduate work, as well. Years later, he completed a master’s degree in guitar performance with the Berklee College of Music, Boston.

Randy began his work in Lawrence Public Schools as a student teacher, where more than 33 years later, in 2009, he retired as the Superintendent of Schools. During his time in Lawrence Public Schools, he was a high school history, economics and government teacher, a junior high social studies teacher and football, basketball and track coach, and an assistant principal and principal before joining the district administration team working in several roles before the Lawrence Board of Education appointed him to be the fifth superintendent to preside over consolidated Unified School District 497.

As superintendent, Randy provided leadership to garner community support to improve facilities and technology, open Langston Hughes Elementary School, create the Lawrence Virtual School, implement full-day kindergarten, expand English as a Second Language services, improve mental health services, expand after-school programs, and improve outdoor district athletic facilities.

In 2011, Randy accepted the position of one-year Interim Superintendent for Tonganoxie USD 464. The one-year interim superintendency turned into 3 years during which Randy led the district in the development of policies and procedures to increase the district’s effectiveness and efficiency and the effort to pass a bond issue for a new PreK-5 elementary school.

Randy’s last professional role was CFO for the Kansas Association of School Boards where his duties included finance and operations, superintendent searches, district facilities planning, board of education training, and business-partnerships management. He retired from KASB June 30, 2020, just a few short months before his lymphoma diagnosis.

Randy was an active public servant in the Lawrence community and served on numerous boards, including The Shelter, Lawrence Sister Cities Advisory Board, Juvenile Justice Reform Planning Team, Horizon 2020, Leadership Lawrence, Lawrence Education Achievement Partnership, and Junior Achievement. In addition, he was a member of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Lawrence Economic Development Board, Salvation Army Advisory Board, United School Administrators Board, Phi Delta Kappa, Kansas Association of School Business Officials, Kansas University National Advisory Board, and the KU Advisory Committee on Human Experimentation. In 2018, Randy joined the Board of Directors of the Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center and served as Chair of the Academic Committee. He served on the Peaslee board until his death.

Randy was recognized by Ecumenical Fellowship Inc. for his dedicated service to Education and furthering the Dream of Dr. Martin Luther King in the Lawrence School District and the entire community. He received the Anna Cerf Lifetime Achievement Award from Ballard Community Services, the Buford M. Watson Public Service Award from the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, the Pioneer Award from Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, and the Paul Harris Fellow Medallion from the Lawrence Noon Rotary Club. The University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning presented its Gordon R. Alley Partnership Award to Randy. He was a German Fulbright Fellow for the Superintendent’s Fulbright Program and received the Kansas Library Association’s Distinguished Service Award. He was the Lawrence Public Schools Educator of the Year in 1993 and was named a Japan/America Foundation MAJIS Fellow in 1990. In 1981, Randy earned the Kansas Economic Education Grand Award from the Kansas Bankers Association.

Randy’s final public appearance was November 4, 2021, at the Kiwanis Club of Lawrence Honors Dinner to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence. Although Randy was recognized as a volunteer for his service to the organization in the areas of leadership, service, and dedication to empowering youth in Lawrence, he used the opportunity to thank the staff, volunteers, and board members of the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence for their tireless work to improve the lives of children and youth in Lawrence.

Randy’s final outing was November 26, 2021, when Randy and his wife, Marcia, renewed their wedding vows in the presence of friends and family. The event allowed Randy and his family to express their deep gratitude for the support Randy received during his cancer journey.

Outside of his professional duties, Randy spent time studying and collecting artifacts and historical documents related to WWII. He was an avid reader of biographies, science fiction and non-fiction. He enjoyed woodworking and fly-fishing. Randy and Marcia also enjoyed travel and hiking, especially meaningful to Randy was their trip to Normandy, France, their rim-to-rim Grand Canyon hike, and climbing and repelling in Alaska. Most of all, Randy loved to play the guitar. Nearly all his performances benefitted organizations, primarily the Lawrence Public Schools Foundation.

Randy is survived by his wife, Marcia Remp Weseman; children, Joel Weseman and Leah Wisdom of Lawrence, Courtney Bone (Andrew Murley) of Berkeley, CA, and Judson Bone (Andi Bone) of Milwaukee, WI; grandchildren, Xavien Weseman-Wisdom, Alyus Wisdom, and Shawn Patton of Lawrence and Reaghan Murley of Berkeley, CA; and former wife, Vicki Dowell Weseman of Lawrence. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother.

Although Randy’s professional resume is extensive, above all, he valued time with family, friends, and his pandemic puppy, Lola. His warm and generous personality and his natural inclination to build strong relationships with others had a positive impact on the people with whom he interacted both personally and professionally.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests consideration to one of the following organizations which were especially important to Randy:

Boys and Girls Club, Lawrence, KS: bgclk.org/donate (select Randy Weseman Scholarship in the drop- down options under “Donation Info”)

Lawrence Schools Foundation: lawrenceschoolsfoundation.org (click “donate” then select Randy Weseman Memorial Scholarship under “Where can we designate your gift?” tab)

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (funds Dr. Andrew Murley’s, Randy’s son-in-law, research at UC Berkeley): damonrunyon.org (click on “donate” then note Randy’s name under the Tribute Information) or may be sent in care of Warren-McElwain Mortuary, 120 W. 13 ^th Street, Lawrence, KS 66044.