On the morning of August 29, 2023, Randy Carl Hinds passed away peacefully at home with his wife, Peggy, daughter, Jessica, and son, Jonathan, at his bedside. He was seventy-four years old.
Randy was born in Lima, Ohio, to Carl and Virginia Hinds on October 4, 1948, and grew up in Bremerton, Washington. Randy always set his goals high. While in high school, he lettered in football and was in the stage band. He was an Eagle Scout and also played guitar in a rock band. After high school graduation, he enlisted in the Army with the goal of becoming a helicopter pilot, which he achieved. He served with the First Cavalry Division in Vietnam in 1968–69, and he was awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
In March 1970 he met Peggy while on a double blind date, and they married in June 1971. Although he had never thought of making the Army a career, the Signal Corps offered him a direct commission to first lieutenant. Over the next three decades, Randy’s career took his family across the United States and on two tours to Germany. While on active duty, Randy pursued his education, was a National Security Fellow at Harvard University, and earned his doctorate from George Washington University. When he retired from the Army in 1998, after thirty-one years in the service, he was a full colonel.
After his retirement from the Army, he was hired as the first chief information officer at Kennesaw State University. Once again, his leadership and skills were recognized. At the time of his retirement, after eighteen years, he was the vice president for operations, chief information officer/chief business officer, and professor of information systems.
Randy loved all types of music, and he instilled this love in his children from the time of their births. He played guitar and keyboard, and had his own music studio. He was a voracious reader; loved to attend music concerts, visit museums, and travel; and was an avid runner. He truly loved the Army, but his favorite role was husband, father, and grandfather, and his belief in the importance of family was one of the tenets of his life. He was most proud of Jessica and Jonathan and all that they accomplished throughout their lives.
He was preceded in death by his father, Carl, and his nephew Leon, and is survived by his mother, Virginia, his brothers, Steve and Paul, his sister, Virginia, and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to his wife of fifty-two years and his two children, Randy is also survived by his son-in-law, Daniel, and his grandsons, Miles and Bastian.
A funeral Mass will be held at 3:00 p.m. on September 28 at Holy Family Catholic Church at 3401 Lower Roswell Road, Marietta, Georgia. A memorial visitation will take place at Georgia Funeral Care at 4671 South Main Street in Acworth, from 10:00 a.m. to noon on September 29. Randy will be laid to rest with military honors at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton at 2:30 p.m. on September 29. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Tunnel to Towers or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
