Virginia Randolph

Virginia C. Randolph, 87, of Bradford, passed away on March 8, 2026, at Bradford Manor. Born on May 20, 1938, in Bradford, she was the youngest of six children born to the late Harry F. and Marie E. Johnson Strand. She graduated from Bradford Area High School in 1956.

As a young woman, Virginia worked at McCrory’s Five and Dime, where she met James G. Randolph, who survives her. They married on August 3, 1957, in Bradford and spent the next 68 years loving one another and sharing a life filled with laughter. Virginia cherished their four children: Debi Stiefel, Jimmy (Quania) Randolph of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, Greg Randolph of Bradford, and David (Karen) Randolph of Orlando, Florida.

In 1972, Virginia began working as a teacher’s aide in Custer City while earning her master’s degree in education from St. Bonaventure University in 1975. She went on to teach at Fifth Ward School, M.J. Ryan, and School Street Elementary, retiring in 2000. A lifelong member of Grace Lutheran Church, she held a deep and abiding faith in Jesus Christ and participated in many Bible studies and devotional groups throughout her life.

Virginia found great joy in simple pleasures: completing the daily newspaper crossword, gathering with her bunco group and Red Hat Society friends, and losing herself in books. She was an avid reader of cozy mysteries and the novels of Debbie Macomber, and she loved assembling jigsaw puzzles, often with the curious assistance of her cats, Sassy and Missy. Most at home in the kitchen, she baked cookies, cakes, pies, and her famous deviled eggs and peanut butter fudge for family, holidays, and the annual Crook Farm bake sale. She also spent many contented hours in her quilting room, creating beautiful quilts for graduations, weddings, new babies, and other special occasions. She and Jim traveled widely together, visiting Hawaii, Disneyland, Disney World, Boston, New York City, Arizona, Ireland, and many other places, and they enjoyed frequent outings to local casinos, where they played the penny slots and shared their winnings.

In addition to her husband and surviving children, Virginia is survived by her five beloved granddaughters—Heather (Brandon) Whittemore of Bradford, Rachel (Mark) Frisina of Bradford, Sarah (Sean) Housler of State College, Danielle (Dale) Houser of Orlando, Florida, and Brittaney (Randy) Schwartz of Orlando—who were the light of her life. Those granddaughters gave her 13 cherished great-grandchildren: Liam, Brianne, Benjamin, Jack, Josiah, Brielle, Isaiah, Sadie, Moses, Ezra, Nehemiah, Zion, and Judah. She is also survived by her sister, Sarah Lanier of Griffin, Georgia, along with many nieces and nephews across the country.

Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, her daughter Debi Stiefel, her brother William Strand, and her sisters Anna Graham, Shirley Layton, and Donna Johnson.