Randy Allred: A humble leader

ROYAL CITY - Randy Allred, a long time, well known resident of the Royal Slope who died of cancer on Dec. 14, will be remembered as a leader even though he was reluctant.

"Friends and neighbors asked him to run for those commissions. He wouldn't have done it on his own," younger brother Wiley said. "He was not a politician. He told you what you needed to hear, not what you wanted to hear."

Even to Wiley and his other brothers, Randy was a leader. They respected the meticulous way he studied before acting. After he planted apples, they planted apples, because they knew he had researched the topic thoroughly.

Randy was 10 years older than Wiley. So there was no close connection while Wiley was a kid. Their relationship grew as Wiley grew.

"All of my older brothers have been my advisors," he said. "He was a good one. He was very thorough in everything he did. He was great to talk to. I always went to him for advice.

"A neighbor of Randy's once told me: 'I follow Randy around and do what he does.'"

Allred, who came to Royal Slope with his family in 1962, was born on Oct. 30, 1950 in Ithaca, NY. His father, Wells, was earning an agriculture degree there.

Allred's early years must have seemed like an adventure. His father worked in Peru and the Philippines helping those countries with agricultural development. Wells also worked in Utah before acquiring the Royal Slope land now farmed by Wiley.

Randy, 12 at the time, helped break that ground. It was a time when everyone worked, Wiley said.

That made it tough for Randy to participate in school sports, but he played football fours years for Royal High, played basketball three years and wrestled his senior year.

"Mostly he worked," Wiley recalled.

Randy attended Big Bend Community College, worked on a fishing boat in Alaska and served in the Air National Guard. He married high school sweetheart Nancy Kay Fallis on April 3, 1970 at Royal Camp.

Then the new couple started their farm, orchard and feedlot on the west end of the Royal Slope.

But Randy didn't go unnoticed. He was soon courted to become a community leader.

Allred served on the Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District board of directors for 29 years and as a Grant County PUD Commissioner from 2003 until early this year, when he resigned due to health.

"Randy was a great man and will be deeply missed by the Grant PUD family," said Interim General Manager Tony Webb. "He believed in giving more to his community than he took, and his many years of service were evidence."

Among Allred's more notable contributions, according to Webb, was the successful relicensing of the Priest Rapids Project, bond refinancing, and major capital upgrades throughout the utility.

"He was known for his wisdom and no-nonsense ability to represent the interests of Grant County residents," Webb said.

Trying to relate the essence of Allred, Webb shared an Allred comment, made at one of his final meetings:

"It's about what's most helpful for Grant County PUD. It's not about Randy...it never has been, and it certainly isn't now... The little things don't matter too much anymore. Even the big things are starting to not be such a huge thing."