KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM There were some smiles between the tears at yesterday's service for Randy Whitaker. His daughter, Lindsay, left, was hugged by family friend Polly Crews during a light moment. Next to Crews was Whitaker's son, Ross, and his wife, Melinda.

Service bids aloha
to sailor lost at sea

Randy Whitaker's friends
recall that he had a kind word
and a smile for everyone

---

By B.J. Reyes
breyes@starbulletin.com

Petty Officer 2nd class Randy Glenn Whitaker, a Pearl Harbor-based sailor lost at sea last week, was remembered as a devoted husband and loving father who befriended nearly everyone he met.

"The feeling aboard the ship was, you either liked Randy or you didn't know him," Petty Officer 1st class Jerry Stanton said at a memorial service yesterday.

Whitaker, 44, was reported missing after an early morning roll call last Friday aboard the USS Russell.

The destroyer had left Pearl Harbor Oct. 25 on a six-month Western Pacific deployment and was 850 miles southwest of India when Whitaker was lost.

The memorial service at Pearl Harbor Memorial Chapel included a bagpiper's performance of "Amazing Grace" and vocal renditions of "Wind Beneath My Wings" and "God Bless the U.S.A."

"Randy had a laid-back attitude," said family friend Charlie Crews, who delivered the eulogy. "He took adversity in stride and always had a smile and a kind word for everyone."

Crews said he met Whitaker about five years ago at the Iroquois Lagoon Yacht Club, and the two avid yachtsmen quickly became friends "swapping sea stories."

Aside from sailing, Whitaker also enjoyed golfing and other outdoor activities, friends said.

Born in Amarillo, Texas, in 1957, Whitaker had served in the Navy since 1988.

He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Melinda, and two teenage children, son Ross and daughter Lindsay.

Family members did not speak at the memorial.

Several dozen people attended the service, many of whom had to dry their eyes during a bugler's rendition of taps that followed the presentation of the American flag to Melinda Whitaker.

"All of us feel a deep loss in countless ways," said Mike Wallace, Whitaker's best friend. "I'll miss the warmth he extended to everyone he met."

"I'll miss having Randy there when I needed a friend," said Wallace, his voice breaking with emotion. "I will miss you dearly, Randy.

"Aloha, brother."