RANDALL JOSEPH BEAN

With heavy hearts, we announce that Randy passed away peacefully, enveloped in love with family by his side on August 5th, 2024 at Riverview Health Centre at the age of 67 after a brief illness.

He is survived by his wife of 43 years Donna-Lee; children Kimberlee (George) and Daniel (Samantha); grandchildren Christopher, Cory-Lee, Kylee, Braylee, Mahigan, Tristan and Hannah-Lee; his mother; Mildred, and siblings; Bob (Anne), Mel (Marsha), Al, Lorne (Bev), Bruce (Donna), Ann (Peter), Colin (Janet), Scott (Angela); as well as Aunts, Uncles, and numerous nieces and nephews. Randy is predeceased by his father; Earl, brother; Ron, and sister; Dale.

Randy was born 7th in a family of 11 children in the small town of Shawville, Quebec. Randy often spoke fondly of his childhood, being surrounded by lots of family including uncles, aunts and cousins who lived close by. He was never without things to do including ice hockey, spending time in the family’s garage learning how to work on various machinery and spending time in the bush out at the family camp. These interests in childhood would later carry on to form his passions throughout adulthood and right into his final days.

Randy always had a spirit of adventure starting in young adulthood. He left home to pursue a work opportunity out west before finding employment in the mines of Thompson Manitoba in 1977. It would be during his time in Thompson that he would meet and eventually fall in love with Donna-Lee who was doing a nursing practicum at the time. It would be during Christmas of 1980 that Randy would propose to Donna-Lee and the two were married in July of 1981. The two of them eventually settled in Winnipeg and had their first child Kimberlee in 1983 followed by their second child, Daniel in 1985.

Randy attended the Wildland Recreation program at Selkirk College in Castlegar, British Columbia in the late 1970’s. This would be the beginning of his career in conservation. Randy went on to attend the University of Winnipeg majoring in Environmental studies and Geography. It would be during this time that he worked for the City of Winnipeg as a Naturalist and then was hired by the Manitoba Wildlife Federation as the Habitat Coordinator for the Habitat Trust Foundation. Randy coordinated, managed and took donations for 90,000 acres of wildlife habitat in the province of Manitoba. This program was rebranded into Habitat Trust, with Natural Resources, where he worked as the Critical Wildlife Habitat Coordinator, focusing on endangered species and spaces. It would be during this time that he began writing articles about his own and others’ hunting experiences that were published in magazines. The magazines in which he was published included Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, Big Buck Magazine and North American Whitetail. The popularity of his articles were apparent with the number of hunters reaching out to Randy asking to hunt with him.

Being a father and Grandpa to Randy meant giving his children and grandkids experiences and opportunities that encompassed his passions. There were many camping trips to Clear Lake starting in tents in the 1980’s, working their way into pop up trailers in the early 1990’s and ending in a four season cabin for the last 30 years that was used for Randy’s outfitting business, Aksarnerk Adventures, that he proudly built from the ground up. The many family trips stretching from provinces British Columbia to Quebec, as well as ski trips to Montana and a couple trips to Disney World are forever cherished as valuable time spent together.

Aksarnerk Adventures was launched in 1994 and was in operation until 2007 that saw himself and clients on excursions throughout Manitoba, the Arctic and various places throughout the world. Following the closure of Aksarnerk Adventures, Randy was not content to just stay at home. He was asked to help out at Glenat Enterprises, a local construction company for just a couple days and ended up staying on for over 11 years, ending his career there as Safety Coordinator.

Randy had a number of expeditions of his own including multiple hunting trips in the United States including the state of Alaska, Africa, Europe, and Central America. For many years Randy and Donna-Lee spent time in various tropical destinations like Cuba, Dominican Republic, Belize, and Honduras and in later years they toured the lakes of Manitoba seeking Masters.

Beyond his interests for the outdoors were his need for speed through his 1973 Corvette that he owned for many years. The stingray could be seen racing in Gimli during the summer as well as cruising the Winnipeg streets during Cruise Night on Sunday evenings. The Corvette brought a lot of enjoyment to Randy and was eventually handed down to his oldest grandson Chris who also developed a love for the Corvette, mechanics and machinery. Randy’s passion for the outdoors, hunting and conservation meant endless knowledge that he freely poured into anyone who asked. Having spent most of his life as a hunter who used his skills to provide for his family, Randy believed in sharing any skill or tip he could so others could also be successful in the field.

He had a genuine interest in ensuring others enjoyed the lifestyle as much as he did. Randy spent time volunteering in various organizations including the Manitoba Wildlife Federation, Assiniboine Wildlife Club where he served as both president and vice president for many years. Randy also served as Vice President of the Manitoba Lodges and Outfitters for just over eight years. He also sat at the round table Board of Management in Riding Mountain National Park ensuring that others had a voice. Randy was certified as a Boone and Crocket and Pope and Young measurer. He truly enjoyed seeing people’s successes and measuring their animals. 

In his later years, Randy and Donna-Lee developed a love for fishing and would spend as much time as they could chasing that next big catch. Donna-Lee always seemed to have a goal in mind and Randy was always ready to help her achieve it. It was clear to anyone who met the two of them, that Randy was completely smitten by Donna-Lee, often referring to her as his “girlfriend” or “babe”. The two of them built a massive network of friends in this latest hobby and many of them were there for the family in the last final months when fellowship and support was most needed.

Randy’s passing had a massive effect on not just his family but the networks of people he surrounded himself with throughout his life. It’s hard to put into words how much Randy contributed to the lives of those he engaged with, only to say that those he met won’t forget him anytime soon. 

The family expresses gratitude to Cancer Care Manitoba, the staff at Grace Hospital and lastly at Riverview Health Centre who’s staff did a phenomenal job at making sure he and his family’s needs were met during such a devastating time for us. Your grace and understanding in this time is greatly appreciated. 

Information regarding Randy’s Celebration of Life will be announced at a later time.

Randy’s family kindly requests that all of his friends and relatives take a few minutes to honour his memory by sharing photos, memories, and stories, using the comment section on this page.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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