Randi Sue (Butler) Chase

Randi passed away unexpectedly on December 5, 2020 shortly after spending Thanksgiving with her daughters, grandsons and former husband.  Born on September 16, 1955 in Portales, New Mexico, Randi was the eldest daughter of Wright and Jessie Butler.  In 1966, her family moved to Ojai, California, where Randi resided for fifty years.  For almost 22 years, Randi worked in administration at The Thacher School.  In 2007, Randi returned to New Mexico and settled in Alamogordo, where her parents, sister and extended family were living.  From that time to her passing, Randi worked at National Construction in a variety of roles.

Randi was a passionate gardener.  Her patience, vision, diligence and nurturing nature, combined with her seemingly innate green thumb, made her exceptionally talented at growing flowers, plants and vegetables, even in the high desert.  Randi took great pride in her garden, but she was happiest when sharing its beauty with others.  She radiated joy when she spoke of new seedlings and blooms or harvesting tomatoes and butter leaf lettuce.  The same characteristics that made her an exceptional gardener also made her a gifted cook, and much like gardening, cooking was a labor of love.  For Randi, food was a way of showing others how much she cared for them, and her love for cooking fed not only her family but her church community and friends.

As she said time and time again, Randi’s most treasured role was being a mother.  Her love for her daughters was pure, selfless and unconditional.  It is Randi’s legacy as a mother that will live on long after her passing and forever define who she was at her core.

Randi often lightheartedly referred to herself as a sunflower, one of her favorite blooms.  While she said it in jest, those fortunate enough to know Randi can attest that she embodied all of the positive characteristics that sunflowers symbolize:  resilience, adoration, loyalty and happiness.  Randi gave life to the words of Helen Keller, “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows.  It’s what the sunflowers do.”  Even in the face of adversity, Randi’s kindness, compassion and Pollyannaism shown through, and her loved ones will continue to bask in the warm glow of her memory.

Randi is survived by her daughters, MacKenna (Chris) and Lauren (Giano), her grandsons, James and Duke, her parents, Wright and Jessie Butler, and her sister, Karla Cotton, along with a devoted extended family and network of friends. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Randi can be made to Little Wishes at www.littlewishes.org/donate.

The Chase family has entrusted their loved one to the care of Alamogordo Funeral Home to direct the arrangements.

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