02/04/2016
For all those that new my grandpa "Randy" Bays.
In Memory of
Randolph Garland Bays
November 5, 1922 - January 31, 2016
Obituary
Randy Bays of Banks went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Sunday, January 31, 2016. He was born to Cressie McKee (Tabor) and Dennie Proctor Bays on Novem-ber 5, 1922 in Burley, Idaho. Randy was the only boy in the family, having 8 sisters.
The family moved to the St. Johns area of Portland after 1935, when he was about 13 years old. In his late teens, Randy began working as a sheet metal apprentice. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Randy worked in Hawaii as a civilian for 1-1/2 years help-ing to repair the US Pacific Fleet. On March 4, 1944 he joined the Navy, was assigned to the USS Pickens (APA-190) as a coxswain on a Higgins boat landing craft (LCVP). On February 19, 1945, Randy found himself under enemy fire at Iwo Jima, landing ele-ments of the 2nd Battalion, 25th Regiment, 4th Marine Division on the assault beach (designation Blue One). During his service, APA-190 also visited the Philippines, the Marshall Islands, Okinawa, New Caledonia, the Marianas Islands, the Solomon Islands, and mainland Japan.
After his ship was decommissioned in April of 1946 in Norfolk, VA, Randy bought a 1942 Harley Davidson motorcycle, and rode it home across the United States, stopping to visit his parents' birthplace and family in eastern Kentucky. He was honorably dis-charged from the navy on June 7, 1946 in Bremerton, WA.
Back in Portland, Randy married Anna Dietz in May, 1949, and built a small home on 2+ acres of land in Cedar Mill. There they raised 4 boys, Dennis, Lyle, Matt, and Jim. Randy and Anna had both grown up on farms, so growing their own food in a garden and orchard, and canning and preserving, were natural and important aspects of the family budget. They had a small fruit orchard, and garden, with tomatoes, corn, cucum-bers, squash, lettuce, radishes, and other common vegetables. Randy and Anna were both devout Christians, and attended Bethany Baptist Church regularly for many years.
Randy really enjoyed the outdoors. He took his family fishing, hiking, clamming, and camping throughout much of the Pacific Northwest. With the influence of a family friend, Barney Douglass, Randy and Anna bought a tree farm on Green Mountain in the early 60's. It was an original homestead of approximately 160 acres. Their intent was to raise and sell Christmas trees and timber to finance the boys' college educations and to fund their "retirement". In 1968, Randy and Anna purchased and moved the family to a 70 acre tree farm on a hill overlooking Banks, Oregon. Randy's commitment and success at learning all he could about raising Christmas trees and managing his timberlands was acknowledged by his peers when in 1992 he was awarded "Tree Farmer of the Year" by the Washington County Chapter of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association.
Randy was always a hard worker. He spent most of his career as a union sheet metal worker, eventually working his way up to estimator. In 1973, Randy and a friend pur-chased Swan Island Sheet Metal, and became small business owners. They were quite successful, and Randy finally "retired" to his farm in Banks in 1980. There he began Bays Farms, which is still going today, run by his son Jim, selling U-Cut Christmas Trees, U-Pick Fruit (Apples, Nectarines, Peaches, etc.) and sustainably managed and harvested timber.
During the years in Banks, Randy continued his devotion to God, attending Banks Community Church and the Hillsboro Church of the Nazarene. He spent many years volunteering with the Gideons, visiting and witnessing to Washington County Jail in-mates and shut-ins. During those years Randy and Anna also traveled to Central and South America and Papua New Guinea for several "work and witness" missions, build-ing churches in rural areas. They also visited New Zealand and Australia with fellow Christmas tree growers. Throughout his life, career and travels, his generous, friendly and gregarious nature made him a friend of many.
Randy is survived by two sisters, Fern Donovan, and Ruby Turner; Anna, his wife of 66 years; four sons, Dennis, Lyle, Matthew and James; six grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sisters Arley Winter, Iva Okesson, Ethelyn Kauffman, Lavonne Bays, Bessie Bays and Jean Larsen.
A memorial service will be held at 10:30 am on Saturday, February 27, 2016 at the Hillsboro Church of the Nazarene, 1390 NE 21st Ave, Hillsboro, OR 97124; phone 503-640-3685.
