Randal“Randy”Meeks,80,ofMadill,Okla.passedaway on Thursday, October 5, 2023, at the Veterans Center in Sulphur, Okla. with his family by his side. He was born on March 29, 1943, in Dallas, Texas to the late James Waymon Meeks and Willow Dean Webster Meeks.
Randy was raised in Dallas, Texas. He joined the Army right out of high school and was stationed at Fort Benning where he met the love of his life, Barbara Lanton. He married Barbara Ann Lanton on September 6, 1963, in Columbus, Ga. and she preceded him in death on July 21, 2019.
Randy did not know what family really was until he met his future wife, Barbara Ann Lanton. Together, they grew a family that spans through several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He left a legacy for those that he loved by instilling family values, a hard work ethic, and the importance of always placing family first along with showing others Jesus’s love.
They moved to Madill in 1980 and in 1988, opened and operated The Bar B Q Pit. Randy thrived as a businessman by building a BBQ restaurant that people still remember as a place they gathered and fellowshipped. It was not only a place of business, but a place where everyone became family. After retiring from the pit, Randy built a laundromat with the same pride for perfection he always had. Some of his grandkids’ greatest memories are from when he made sure they all knew how to properly fold a fitted sheet.
If Randy could not be found at the mat, he could either be found on his lawnmower (he loved mowing) or in the McDonalds drive-thru. His love for his family made a lasting impact on them that they will carry with them as they work to build on the legacy he worked so hard to create. Randy was a man who grew up without a family, but just look around at the family he built. Those that loved him, gathered around to say their goodbyes as he left this world and joined his love in Heaven with Jesus.
Randy was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara; brother Gerald; granddaughter Hannah and greatgranddaughter Ivy.
Randy is survived by his children, Regina Meeks of Greenwood, Ark., John Meeks of Madill, Okla.; Teri Thomas and husband John of Roff, Okla., Mark Meeks and wife Kelsey of Silo, Okla.; grandchildren, Larissa, Kayla, Kirsty, Kourtnee, Jessi, Lyndsey, JR., Zac, Sara, Mason, Magalie, Karter and Kennedy and great grandchildren, Julian, Mia, Lillian, Kinzleigh, Rylie, McKinlee, Kendyl, Liam, Maddox and Jackson.
Memorial service will be 10:00 a.m. Saturday, October 14, 2023, at the Watts Memorial Chapel in Madill, Okla. Cecil Mackey will officiate. Service will be under the direction of Watts Funeral Home in Madill, Okla. Condolences may be sent to wattsfuneralhome.com.
Honorary Bearers will be Jorge Rodriguez, Jonathan Wright, Nester Gardner and Forrest Ray.