Flay Phillip Randolph

June 15, 1928 - May 21, 2024

May 30, 2022 by Jamie

I have just learned that Uncle Flay has passed today. He was 93 and just short of his 94th birthday of June 15. He had a long full life, but it is always difficult to lose someone regardless of age. I always remember my mom telling me that he and Rachel were the first to invite my parents over for dinner when they moved to Arizona. Something my mother never forgot.

Flay and Rachel Irene were married in 1947 on May 19. The marriage certificate says she was 18, but her birth year makes her barely 16. The certificate also says he was 22, but was 18. Despite getting married so young, they enjoyed a long marriage, lasting until her death in 2015. You might say it was a love meant to be.

Flay had many great stories and I hope some are written down for all to know. He is where I learned that he farmed with Uncle Lloyd in Buckeye and repaired and flew Lloyd’s plane. Along the way, they had 3 children, Sharon Cravens, Sandra (deceased), and Greg. There are many grandchildren and great grandchildren also. My condolences to all the family.

January 2026 - I have been working on a Tucker Family History Book and also continuing my research on our family. In my research, I learned that uncle Flay worked as an aircraft mechanic at the Naval facilities in Goodyear, Arizona. That was a interesting bit of information that fit with what he had told me about repairing and flying Lloyd's plane. Uncle Flay might have been trained while in the Navy. Uncle Lloyd was trained to fly at the Army airfield at the bombardier school in Big Spring, Texas.