Randy Padmore

A man of vision.  A man of infinite abundance for life. Randy's passion for youth was felt throughout the city by all who met him.  His work at Atkinson Housing Co-op and the Alexander Park Community over these past 15 months re-shaped a community the way that only Randy could.

His commitment to excellence in all that we do was exhibited on a daily basis by his every action. Randy's work with the Atkinson Outreach Team touched many people in the community.

Randy was a key part of the summer outdoor basketball league that operated three nights a week and involved 140 young people.   He was instrumental in founding the Dexter Johnston Community Basketball Program this past fall. 

Randy also played a role in founding a Youth Leadership Program that is flourishing in Malvern.   The young people meet weekly and are working on a number of projects to strengthen their community.

Randy provided vision and determination in creating the Dexter Johnston Scholarship that was presented by Ken Jeffers, Zanana Akande, and Mayor David Miller.  The scholarships were presented at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts to Atkinson Co-op residents Dorran Grant and Nada Le.

Ken Jeffers on the left, Zanana Akande and Mayor David Miller present Nada Le and Dorran Grant winners of the Dexter Johnston Scholarship

One of Randy's creeds was to always be fair, be kind and spread your love around. His belief was that everyone deserved these things and he always had a smile, a laugh or a hug to anyone he met. 

Randy's hope for AP was to see a community come alive once again as it was in the days when he lived there. We have all now become, stewards of Randy's hope. Let us all remember this great man and commit to spend our days honouring his wish.  Be kind, be fair and spread your love around.

Randy Padmore will be missed.

Written by Esther Forde and Tom Clement

When I first met Randy, I couldn’t help but feel the undeniable partnership he and Tom had together.  When they joked about being brothers, I couldn’t help but feel as if they were.  They reminded me of Batman and Robin (Randy would probably let you know that he was Batman) - both out to save the Youth of Toronto…

Tom and Randy came to Campden Green Co-op and recognized the need to help the Youth in the Malvern area.  Working together with Randy was a delight.  He brought enthusiasm and understanding of young people’s needs to anyone that would listen.  How could one not listen to what he had to say?  He was insightful, intelligent, and warm and his ideas were inventive and unique.  He tried to find the positive in every situation, always interested in what others had to say. 

The news of his passing has left a great void in the world.  The numbers of lives that he has touched directly and indirectly cannot possibly be measured.  Randy’s dedication and unwavering loyalty to young people was a blessing for those that knew him.

Randy – my friend - you will be deeply missed.  We have lost you but God has gained a worthy soldier. 

Heidi

Who was Randy..

Randy was a glimpse of hope

when you were given up or when you were searching for.

Randy was a helping hand

when you were too tied up to ask.

Randy was a big tireless heart

with the little hearts' content in mind.

Randy was a "smiley face"

any time, any place, always!

Randy was like rays of light

made up of compassion, glowing of life!

Randy was present and always by your side

if you still need to know, just go look inside!

                         ***

Live long Randy! In children's' laughter and grown ups's heart!

Maria

Having the opportunity to meet and work with Randy over the last year and half is something that I will hold close to my heart. The moment I met Randy Padmore two things were very clear; i) He loved growing up in the Alexandra Park Community and wanted to share the history with the new generation ii) his personality & character would make it easy for young people learn from. Working closely with the children and youth, Randy took every opportunity to guide the new generation. His personality allowed him to make genuine connections with the young people of Atkinson Co-op; he’s someone people loved being around. His impact on the Alexandra Park community will always be remembered as he gave all he had to improve the life of the residents of Atkinson Co-op.

I have a great deal of admiration for Randy and how he lived his life, centred on God, Family/Friends, and the Community. He shared stories about his life, informally becoming my big brother as I could easily relate to his personality.  He gently reminded me I was on the right path and encouraged me to continue working towards my life goals. My prayers are with his Family who made him so proud with all their successes and achievements. Thank you for sharing your life with our community!!

Olu

I clearly remember the first day I met Randy at a community outreach meeting at Central Commerce Collegiate.  His reputation had preceded him.  I had heard so many parents and students from the Atkinson co-op speak of him with such genuine love and respect. At the meeting, I was touched by his passion for helping young people succeed.  He knew each Atkinson resident at our school by name and had specific ideas for how he could support and guide each one of them by working with their strengths and talents.  He truly understood, cared and saw right into the soul of all the kids he took under his wing. His love of basketball and young people brought him out to many CCC basketball games where he was our principal cheerleader and supporter.  Randy impacted many students at Central Commerce Collegiate through his fatherly ways, sound advice and caring demeanour - he will be dearly missed by our students and staff.

Allison

Our life touches people as did Randy’s who had a positive impact on everyone he encountered.  He welcomed interaction upon entering any room.  His laughter, genuine smile and warm hugs touched my heart and brought joy to my face everytime we met.  Commitment to serving others and his passion for the Youth was profound.  A model of true greatness shown by humility not pride.  Let us take what he imparted to us, apply them to our lives, sharing them with others. 

Randy - I will never forget how you made me feel…loved and richly blessed for having known you.

Felicia Davis

The board of directors for Atkinson Housing Co-op is shocked and deeply saddened to hear about Randy Padmore's tragic death.  Randy proved to be a real asset and a great friend to the community.   The Board of Directors of Atkinson Co-op wishes to send deepest condolences to Randy's family and friends.

Atkinson board of directors

No words can describe how much Randy meant to the lives of those who live in the Alexandra Park community. Over his lifetime he managed to touch several people in so many different ways. He was always about bringing everyone together

Randy was all about giving, in his 51 years of life he gave more to this world than the average person would give in an eternity. For me personally, I knew that anything I ever needed help with, I could count on Randy to go out of his way and lend me a hand.

Randy is one of the coolest people ever to live; the way he walked, talked and carried himself enabled him to become close friends with anyone regardless of their age, race, values or beliefs. He had a very strong presence; there was something magical about him, he had the ability to make anyone instantly fall in love with him as they met.

He is a man who truly lived life to its limit; he loved, cherished and enjoyed every second of it. He was full of so much love; he loved everyone who he knew, and anyone who knows him loves him dearly. He was and still remains a hero to us all.

Although Randy Padmore is no-longer with us physically, it is our obligation to ensure that his spirit lives forever through remembering all the great things he showed us and continuing to build on what he started.

Walied Eldardiry

From the day I met Randy he struck me as a person full of passion and ambition.

Randy was always upbeat and jovial with everyone - and did he ever know a lot of people!

Randy was the comic relief in  tense situations, always trying to lighten up a room and bring laughter to everyone.

He was always trying to get others to do better or get better at what they were doing.

His positive outlook was an inspiration to many, myself included.

My thirty five years of friendship with and mentorship by Randy are indelible.

He will be missed.

Norman Clarke

On this day, the eve of the day a mere week ago that irrevocably altered the lives of thousands, I come to say thank you.

Thank you to a man who stood for greatness. A man who committed every day to live a life full of hope, promise, understanding and determination. Even when he, as we all so often do, question our own ability to sustain these core beliefs within ourselves. Yet, we continue to rise up and carry on in the name of faith as Randy did.

Thank you to a man who by his sheer power of love and faith held firm to his vision of what family and community truly meant. Randy re-shaped a community known as Alexandra Park and to many of us simply as AP. In re-shaping a community, Randy re-shaped and re-fueled the spirits of all those who live within those walls. Young people are choosing to remain in school; they are choosing to continue on into post secondary education; they are searching their hearts and opting to re-create a healthier, safer and more productive personal life for themselves.

The youth will all tell you that the one defining light that allowed them to do these things and challenge their understanding of what it means to strive to be a more fulfilled and better human rests in the belief in them that was shown by their Big Brother, Uncle, Father, Coach. He was known by all those names to a core group of over 800 young people. The man they knew as Randy Padmore.

That is just one of the legacies Randy has left with us. There are many, many more.

So, on this day, that we, from Randy's world, will venture to offer respect to our friend, I come to say thank you.

My work with Randy at AP and my personal life as his cousin remains one of the pillars that has created the woman I am today. I am a better human being for having had him in my life. And I treasure the truth that we never left each other's presence without saying that we loved each other.

Thank you to 'Sister of Mine' for sharing a life with him and loving him as love was meant to be. Thank you to Auntie Carol for creating a son so worthy of all the love held in the hearts of thousands. Thank you to family, friends and all those who, at one point or another, were touched by the humanity that walked with this man.

Our journey is not over. We have now become stewards of our Randy's journey. I offer up my love, praise, adoration, faith and profound respect to our Randy for sharing with us a glimpse of what heaven must surely look like.

Thank you Cousin.
peace and love,
Esther Forde
"Love Matters"

“Brother Ken, this is my neighbourhood, Randy’s neighbourhood”

These words were always Randy’s way of describing who he was.

His love for the neighbourhood really meant how he loved the people in the neighbourhood. 

I first met Randy when he was about 14 years old as a “mouthy” kid who was never afraid to tell you what he thought or what he felt.

He took pride in knowing the history of everyone he knew and telling that funny story.  He had a great sense of humor, loved food, and was always looking out for young people and had a tremendous respect for older people, all of whom he “protected” fiercely.

I am happy that I knew Randy, his “deep down laughters and his great B.B.Q.s.

He called me “big brother”. I will miss my “little brother” with the big heart and deep soul.

Stay up Randy, you deserve all the love that we have for you!

Ken Jeffers

Randy's vision for AP was simple. He envisioned a community that was proud of its neighborhood and supportive of its neighbours. He often preached about and imagined that the community could be like how it once was.
However, I believe that his true intentions were to create a community even better and stronger than it once was.

With his larger than life personality he gently managed in the short time he worked in the community to put on a clinic in Community Development. With more time I can only imagine all that he would have achieved with the community.
I don't believe that he is gone and keep expecting him to come around the next corner. Maybe he would tell me a funny story or encourage more community participation or just give me that big Randy bear hug.. I am so grateful for the time that we had with him in the community. I will continue to work with the community to hopefully one day realize Randy's dream.

I can't stop thinking about you even though it hurts so much.

Herman Ellis Jr.

Every morning I would get a call.

“Big brother, baby brother here,” Randy would greet me cheerfully. We would then go on to talk about his day’s work in the Alexandra Park community.  

Randy was larger than life.  Even when he was being quiet he was the loudest person in the room. He made us all laugh.  He took a keen interest in everyone and their families.  His memory was sharp and he could remember details about people.  He loved talking about and with people.  Randy showed true compassion for their struggles.

Randy spent his whole life trying to get back to the “Park”, the Alexandra Park neighbourhood near Bathurst and Dundas Street West where he grew up. His recent work there and at the Atkinson Co-op changed lives.  Young men would bring their school assignments to show Randy when he was in the gym.  Young girls would beam when Randy would smile their way. He had so much love in his heart that he was able to share it with everyone he met.

Randy’s greatest love was reserved for his family.  He was a proud husband, father, uncle, cousin and grandfather. He was also an extremely proud member of Toronto’s Black community. He knew everyone and his friends called him the “black pages”.

Randy would talk to me about the people he admired.  He had great admiration for many people.  He believed some people did more for their communities and they were his heroes.

In Randy Padmore’s sudden passing, we all realize what a hero he is.

Tom Clement