GRAPEVINE, Texas — Randy Lee Boxberger (age 61) son of Valeria (Vicki) Boxberger and the late, Arlyn Boxberger passed away from complications of COVID. He is survived by his mother, Vicki of Great Bend; wife, Cherie’ of Shady Shores, Texas and daughters Megan (fiancé- Ashton Kendall) of Plano, Texas and Erin of Craftsbury, Vermont.
Randy grew up in Great Bend, Kan. an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church. He played American Legion Baseball. As the only son, nephew, grandson he was very popular among his family members. There is photographic evidence that he had two to four cakes for each birthday. His birthday was Dec. 19th and everyone followed the rule – “No Christmas Paper.”
He mowed lawns and paid his way to the University of Kansas where he received two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree. It was in the Scholarship Hall system at KU where Randy met Cherie’ (Grace Pearson and Douthart) on Cherie’s first day of college.
Randy and Cherie resided in Overland Park after graduating from KU. Their daughters were born and raised there – attending Kansas City Christian and Blue Valley North High School. Randy was the best dad around. He was the coach for the Kansas City Angels basketball team and coached several soccer teams for Megan and Erin. He put his creativity to use writing up numerous plays and strategies for his teams – usually using Excel to lay them out.
Randy was always interested in how to fund his daughter’s college educations. He had discovered that college rowing was a great opportunity for D1 scholarships and insisted his daughters learn the sport at the Kansas City Rowing Club on Wyandotte Lake. His ingenuity resulted in both daughters receiving rowing scholarships (Megan at KU and Erin at University of Notre Dame). Native, Kansas rowers are few and far between.
Until they moved away from the area – they were season ticket holders, attending KU football (yes, we said football) and KU basketball games. His daughter Megan was a fourth generation Jayhawk – he had a life full of Crimson and Blue. Randy and Cherie’ took the opportunity to move away from Kansas City (leaving snow behind) relocating to Missouri City Texas in 2013 and moving closer to Megan, to Lewisville Lake – in December of 2020.
Randy was an accountant. He told his kids his job was to “play on the computer.” He worked in both Public Accounting and in the roles of Controller and CFO for various companies over the years. His co-workers speak most highly of his loyalty and dry sense of humor.
He was very creative and probably should have pursued architecture or design. His daughters shared this creative side and are successful professional designers. He utilized his creativity on our various family vacations to Disney, New York City and San Francisco, planning months in advance. The daily itineraries were neatly kept and carried along our way in trusty sheet protectors.
Being a dad to Erin took extra “hootspa.” Erin has lived the life of a “wandering”, professional athlete; living all over the US and traveling occasionally to Europe in her elite rowing life. Somehow, she learned enough from her dad to figure out a way to fund her dreams. Randy was able to see her win several, international, gold medals. He was there in person for the 2018 World Championships when she and her teammates won gold. He was and will always be her biggest fan.
Randy was a “hands on” dad. One of his final, dad duties was to give permission for Ashton Kendall to become engaged to Megan. He was very excited about this match and will be with us in spirit next September when they celebrate their marriage.
Even at the time of his hospitalization – Randy started writing lists, giving us information we would need to take care of ourselves moving forward. He lived constantly aware of how he could care for the women in his life, even from a hospital bed. We have been well prepared to handle our assignments. We know Randy was a Believer and Follower of Jesus Christ and we will be reunited in heaven. “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
Memorial donations can be made in Randy’s name to WINforKC an organization whose mission is to ”Ignite the Lives of Women and Girls through Sports” https://www.sportkc.org/about-us/get-involved/support-us
A celebration of life will be held at the Minneola United Methodist Church on Saturday, Oct. 23rd at 11 a.m. Visitation and graveside service will be held later this fall – Great Bend, Kansas.
Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune, Oct. 22, 2021
