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Randy Roderick, 41
Teacher, artist, comedian
Randy Roderick, 41, of Boston, died Dec. 21 of mesothelioma in Boston. He was the life partner of Chris Collins.
He was born to a large family in Provincetown in 1966 where he stood out as an original in a town known for its artists and colorful characters. He was filled with an energy that led him on a life journey punctuated by small kindnesses and roaring laughter.
Randy joined the Navy in 1992 and was stationed at Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Fla. He began performing stand-up and improvisational comedy and quickly became a favorite on the area comedy circuit.
Randy met his life partner, Chris, in Florida.
He and Chris moved to Boston in 1997, where Randy joined Boston’s improvisational comedy community and attracted a large circle of friends. He supported himself with a variety of jobs while he pursued his college education. Some jobs were conventional — customer service, web design, waiting tables, tending bar. And others were exotic: he worked with a firm that brings giant balloons to parades across the globe and taught community groups to handle the four-story-tall helium-filled characters. He turned every parade into a true celebration by leading the balloon handlers in performing tricks, and rallying the crowd.
In 2006 he graduated with distinction — one of two in that class — and earned departmental honors from the painting department of Mass. College of Art.
Randy’s vitality and talent shone brightest when directed to his real passion — teaching art to troubled teens at the Home for Little Wanderers. The art program needed money, so he organized Boston’s comedy troupes for a fundraiser on Sept. 24, 2001. The show was a huge success; it funded the home’s art programs for two years. He also taught art with the Arts in Progress program, and later at Boston’s Seaport Campus, a special needs high school in Charlestown. His greatest sense of fulfillment came from his work teaching art at the Umanna-Barnes Middle School in East Boston where he was a teacher, performer, artist, mentor, friend and role model.
Randy’s work was cut short by the onset of mesothelioma in late September 2007.
His zeal for life shone through in everything he did. Even as the tide turned against him he kept everybody laughing. Doctors and nurses would come to his room to see why the thoracic surgery or oncology ward was booming with laughter.
Randy is survived by his partner of 13 years; his father, Phil Roderick; four siblings, Joanne Belmore of Yarmouth, Anna Leister of Braintree, Phil Roderick Jr. of Provincetown and Stephen Roderick of North Truro; five in-laws; and his 14 favorite nieces and nephews.
Donations in his memory may be made in the form of generous support for your local waitstaff and schoolteachers. Memorial service arrangements will be announced at a later date.
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Phyllis Temple
Elizabeth A. Stevens, 68
Patrick J. Shea, 81
Arnold Pisani, 82
Charles R. Herrmann, 86
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Jan 3rd, 2008