SUTTONS BAY – David Anthony Randel, 78, of Suttons Bay, passed away Friday, September 25, 2026 at Corewell Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids.

David was born September 28, 1947 in Yonkers, New York, the son of Irving and Gladys (Shramek) Randel. On October 17, 1981, in the Bronx, he married Linda Bruno with whom he had two children. This upcoming October 17th would have been their 45th wedding anniversary.

David and Linda grew up in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, met in grade school and both sang in a church youth choir. David participated in many Gilbert & Sullivan operettas, as well as other musicals, mostly backstage and building sets. He went to the High School of Music and Art in Manhattan as an art major but also played the clarinet and the oboe. After graduating, he went to the Rhode Island School of Design to study two- and three-dimensional design, but left school, and in 1967, he was drafted into the Army.

He was trained as a radio operator and sent to Vietnam where he was embedded with the local Vietnamese Army. For his service, he was awarded a Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Bronze Star, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Armed Forces Honor Medal ARVN, Conspicuous Service Cross, Good Conduct Medal and Civil Actions Honor Medal.

Upon his discharge, he returned home to the Bronx and had various jobs, mostly involving cars, until he decided to embark on his life-long career in carpentry. He also met and married his first wife, with whom he had three children. While he was getting trained as a master finish carpenter, he won three 1st place awards in New York City and one 1st place award in New York State competitions and was a finalist in the International Carpentry Competition in 1975.

During his 56 years of working as a carpenter, one of his first jobs was hanging drywall at the World Trade Center. He worked at Gimbel’s Department store from 1972-1986, starting in the carpentry shop and ending up supervising all the building trades for the entire New York region. After Gimbel’s closed, he worked with various construction companies in Westchester County and Connecticut doing high-end remodels as well as new home construction from the ground up. He taught carpentry to students at a NYC high school for three years where he found out teaching in a school setting was not his calling, but he continued to share his skills with anyone who was interested or asked for help.

Since his official retirement, he never stopped working on projects that interested him. He built himself a small rowboat just for fun and continued upgrading the family house in the Bronx as well as helping family, neighbors and friends with whatever needed fixing.

One of his very favorite things to do, beside using his hands to make beautiful things, was watching Formula 1 racing and live cop shows on TV. He also collected books about Vietnam and classic cars, and was especially happy cooking for family and friends.

Since moving to Suttons Bay 13 years ago, he had been involved in remodeling a friend’s house as well as his own, building three Little Free Libraries, as well as other projects for the Friends of the Suttons Bay Bingham District Library, planting and maintaining his garden, watching the birds and other wildlife that came to visit, and playing trivia. His last project was a swing set for a neighbor’s family.

David is survived by his wife, Linda; his children David Randel Jr., Edith (Philip) Giammatteo, Andrew Randel, Amanda (Cliff) Martinez, Cody Randel; a sister, Shelley (Stephen) Riley; his grandchildren, Kyle Randel, Marco and Xavier Giammatteo and Alora Cabane Randel; a cousin, Steven (Adelina) Kieley and many loved nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

A gathering of friends will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday, October 19th at the Martinson Funeral Home of Suttons Bay. In lieu of flowers, David would have appreciated any donations going to Munchkins Mission, PO Box 764, Suttons Bay MI 49682.

Please share condolences with the family at www.martinson.info Arrangements are with the Martinson Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Leelanau.