Randolph "Randy" Allen

Randolph “Randy” Fairfax Allen passed away on Saturday November 30, 2019 surrounded by his family after a long battle with uveal melanoma. 

Randy was born on November 25, 1961 at Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas.  He attended Grady Elementary, the Hill School of Pennsylvania, and graduated from St. John’s High School where he was a Prefect and Captain of the Football team in his senior year.  He attended Babson College in Boston and graduated from Southern Methodist University where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

Randy grew up in Houston, first in Briar Grove and later Tanglewood, surrounded by loving families and friends.  His early days were filled by Post Oak Baseball, gatherings with other neighborhood families, and long summer days playing with the other boys on Green Tree Road, usually including some of the Recklings, Bakers, and Fondrens.  Weekends were spent in the company of his mother’s twin sister Fairfax Randall and her family, often at the Randall family farm in Conroe or at Offits Bayou in Galveston. 

As a teenager, Randy learned the joys of motor bikes, hunting, water skiing, golf, and pretty much all of the recreational arts. His avocation with motor bikes transitioned to cars at sixteen, and thus began his life-long affinity for fine automobiles.  His love of cars extended to boats, planes, and all manner of adult toys; he was someone who always took great care of his cars, boats, and guns and woe to anyone who messed with his gear.

He never forgot a friend.  Many of his childhood friends were close friends as an adult, and even when he had not seen someone for a long time, he was there for them if they were in need or to congratulate them for some success or good fortune. 

In the late 80s he met Laurie Landry, who become the love of his life.  She became a fixture on Big Red, Randy’s boat he kept at his cousin David Randall’s place in Galveston.  They were married in 1991 and soon after first Morgan and then Kendall were born.  After this, Laurie, Morgan, and Kendall became the center of his life. Randy was so proud of his precious girls and what they have become and accomplished. In the latter stages of his disease, it was his love for his family that fueled his tremendous effort to fight his sickness.

While Randy enjoyed his “guy” time with his hunting buddies and business associates, he especially loved the time with his family.  He enjoyed planning fabulous family trips.  They had many memorable vacations in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Cabo San Lucas, and North Carolina.  He especially enjoyed his 50th birthday trip to Paris that he chose to take with his mother, his brothers, and their families. 

Randy enjoyed a long and successful career in the brokerage and wealth management industry.  He was first hired into the business at Rauscher Pierce.  In 1995, he formed a partnership with Palmer Moldawer and for over 24 years they built a substantial practice first at UBS and currently at Morgan Stanley.  He was grateful to serve a number of prominent Houston community organizations, individuals, and families with their financial and investment management needs. He was known for his attentiveness and sensitivity to his client’s personal matters, financial and otherwise. Randy led his business career as he did his life; with honesty, integrity and compassion.

Randy was an avid outdoorsman.  He learned to shoot from his father Rudge and experienced many duck, dove, and quail hunts throughout the Gulf Coast and South Texas growing up.  He was an accomplished shot and experienced memorable hunts as an adult throughout the world.  Randy was a devotee of South Texas deer hunting and spent many a weekend working and entertaining family and friends at his leases.

Randy enjoyed people and people enjoyed Randy. He was the ultimate “fun” uncle who organized the family trips, instigated hunts for his friends, and could be the life of the party when the mood prevailed. He was thoughtful of others, and was the most forgiving of friends. When he prospered, he shared his good fortune with others. His friendliness and penchant for fun made him a popular member of many social organizations including the Houston Country Club, the Bayou Club, and Allegro. 

Randy felt Houston had been good to him and his family and felt it was important to give back to the community.  Randy and Laurie supported many philanthropic causes including SMU, St. John’s School, McCombs School of Business at UT, and many other local Houston charities.  He served on the development board of the UT Health Science Center at Houston. 

The closest cause to Randy’s heart was the Children’s Museum of Houston, where served on the board or advisory board since 1994 (25 years) following in the footsteps of his father Rudge who also served on their board for many years.  During his service with the Children’s Museum, Randy accepted every important role that the Museum requested he assume – and that included President, Secretary, head of the Investment Committee, founder of the Golf Tournament, patron, and solicitor.  In 2008 when hurricane Ike hit and the markets crashed, the Children’s Museum was six months from opening a major expansion – and still had not finished raising the money to pay for it.  While some counseled that they put off the opening, Randy went to work to have the difficult conversations with leaders around Houston to ensure their efforts were not derailed and helped secure the last donations needed to fulfill their goal.

He is survived by the love of his life Laurie Landry Allen and his two beautiful daughters Morgan Elizabeth Allen and Kendall Nancy Allen. Randy was excited to welcome into their family Morgan’s fiancé Cameron Neal.  He was preceded in death by his father E. Rudge Allen Jr. and his grandparents Emmet and Carol Crow of Houston and Edward R. Allen Sr. and Mary Margaret Moody of Galveston.  He is survived by his mother Nancy C. Allen and his brother Edward R. Allen III and wife Chinhui and their children Jessica and Jenny; brother Wilson G. Allen and wife Janet and their children Amelia, Wilson, and Channing.

Randy leaves behind many family and friends.  He was especially close with his Randall cousins Risher, Hally, David, Will, and their families.  One of the great joys of his life was to see his children grow up close to their cousins.  He took special joy in introducing his nephews Wilson Allen Jr. and Stuart Randall to the world of deer hunting in South Texas.

The family is grateful for the many doctors and nurses who treated Randy.  In particular they would like to thank Dr. Takami Sato, director of the Metastatic Uveal Melanoma Program at the Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia, as well as doctors and caregivers at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the Sarah Cannon Research Center in Nashville, TN.

The family will receive visitors from five until eight o’clock in the evening on Wednesday December 4, 2019 at Bradshaw-Carter Memorial and Funeral Services, 1734 W. Alabama St., Houston, TX 77098.  A private burial service will be held at Glenwood Cemetery.   The memorial service will be held at four o’clock in the afternoon on Thursday, December 5, 2019 at the Church of St. John the Divine, 2450 River Oaks Blvd, Houston, TX 77019. Honorary pallbearers are Eddie Allen, Wilson Allen, Risher Randall Jr., David Randall, Will Randall, Ken Landry, Mike Landry, and Palmer Moldawer. The family will host a reception immediately following the service at a location to be announced.

For friends desiring, contributions may be made to The Children’s Museum of Houston, 1500 Binz St., Houston, TX 77004; in support of Dr. Takami Sato’s uveal melanoma research with checks made out to the Jefferson Hospital, Office of Institutional Advancement, 125 S. 9th Street, Suite 600, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (please put in the memo line in memory of Randy Allen/Dr. Sato); or a charity of one’s choice.