Randy Ervin Wilkins was born June 26, 1952 to Edward Leroy & Marjorie Ann (Walker) Wilkins in Alliance, Nebraska the third of four children.
Randy married Linda Carol Fiscus in Bayard, Nebraska, on September 7, 1975. They were best friends and never apart for 40 years of marriage. Randy and his father ran a custom haying business and ranched together in Alliance until he & Linda moved to Bayard in 1986. Randy cowboyed for Granada Feedyard and later Dinklage Feeding Company for 24 years. It was through his work at the feedlot that his lifetime love for horses fostered a passion for horseshoeing thanks to a slightly club-footed sorrel gelding. Randy passed his affection for horses to his children & grandchildren and his skillful art as a farrier to his youngest son.
Randy was a true family man in every sense. He was thoughtful, kind, and always considerate to the needs of his loved ones. He delighted in the joy of his children and later his grandchildren and their accomplishments. He worked at the feedlot and shod horses or drove truck in the evenings and on his one-day-off-a-week to provide for his young family.
Randy passed away November 16, 2015 followed closely by his partner at the feedlot for 20 plus years, Bay. It was only fitting that they would go together.
Randy is survived by his wife, Linda of Bayard, his brothers Craig (Laureen) of Alliance and Lee of Denver, sister Janet (Jack) McKeel of Seneca, two sons Andy (Heather) of Lingle, Wyoming and Chris of Van Tassell, Wyoming, daughter Mandie (Bob) Bentley of Mitchell, granddaughters Dally, Kenzie, and Addison Wilkins, grandsons Trenton and Tandon Bentley and Ryan Schenck and numerous nieces & nephews too many to list but too precious to not mention.
He is preceded in death by his parents Edward & Marjorie Wilkins and his dear friend and brother-in-law Gerald Fiscus.
Funeral services will be held Friday, November 20, 2015 at 10:00 am at the Church of Christ in Bayard with Pastor Bill Ferro officiating. Burial will be in the Bayard Cemetery. Visitation will be Thursday from 2:00-7:00 pm at Bates-Gould Funeral Home in Alliance.
Online condolences may be left at www.batesgould.com
The hoofs of the horses, so witching and sweet
Is the music earth steals from the iron-shod feet;
No whisper of lover, no trilling of bird
Can stir me as hoofs of the horses have stirred.
They spurn disappointment and trample despair,
And drown with their drum-beats the challenge of care;
With scarlet and silk for their banners above,
They are swifter than Fortune and sweeter than Love.
On the wings of the morning they gather and fly,
In the hush of the night-time I hear them go by —
The horses of memory thundering through
With flashing white fetlocks all wet with the dew.
When you lay me to slumber no spot you can choose
But will ring to the rhythm of galloping shoes,
And under the daisies no grave be so deep
But the hoofs of the horses shall sound in my sleep. ~ William Henry Ogilvie