Rev. John Fitz Randolph, son of the Rev. Gideon Henry and Lucy Greene Fitz Randolph was born Dec. 19, 1884 at Alfred, N. Y., and died at Mercy Hospital, Janesville, Wis., on Nov. 9, 1975 following a long illness.
John went to China with his parents when he was five as they served there as missionaries. He spent much of his boyhood in Arkansas where his father served as general missionary and missionary pastor in the Southwest field.
He was married to Florence Emily Voorhees in 1907 and they taught in the mission school at Fouke, Ark., for nine years. John graduated from Alfred University in 1917 and was ordained to the gospel ministry. He served thirty-five years in the ministry before retiring in 1952. He served as pastor of the Friendship and DeRuyter churches in New York; at Milton Junction, Wis.; and at Berea, W. Va. Over half of his pastoral ministry was at Milton Junction. During his ministry, he was a leader in teen-age conferences, served as president of Sabbath School Board and was a member of Commission from 1934-37.
He was active in work and community matters serving as curator of the Milton House Museum for a number of years after his retirement to Milton in 1952. He was interested in genealogy and did considerable work on both the Randolph genealogy and the Davis genealogy. He was given a citation from the Milton Historical Society in 1973. In 1973 it was his interest and research in the historical field which was especially cited. At the time of his death he was the oldest Seventh Day Baptist Minister. He is survived by his wife, Emily, at Cedar Crest Nursing Home, Janesville, Wis.; a brother, Winfield, Daytona Beach, Fla.; three sons; Robert of Denver, Colo., Ivan of Milton, Wis., and Irwin of Boulder, Colo.; one daughter, Caroline Gray of Milton, Wis.; fourteen grandchildren and twenty-five great-grandchildren. Funeral services were held at the Albrecht Funeral Home, Milton, on Nov. 12 with the Rev. Earl Cruzan conducting the service. Burial was in the Milton Junction Cemetery.
E. C.
