Irene Randolph-Herndon (nee) Leggett

Irene Randolph-Herndon (nee Leggett) was born on March 23, 1936 in Montezuma, GA to the late Roland and Millie Brown Leggett. The sun set on Monday, January 27, 2020 at the Christian Village of Mt. Healthy, after a short stay.

At an early age, she joined Beulah Baptist Church, where she served faithfully until her sunset. She was a member of the Women’s Choir. (She stated to her nephew on this past Sunday, that she sounded better sick than when she was well). At the age of 81, she would drive the church bus to pick up the elderly for service. Only Irene! Irene loved to travel. She could drive from Cincy to GA/FL, as well as from Cincy to California. She had no boundaries.

At the age of 66, Irene enrolled at the University of Cincinnati to study criminal justice and earned an AS degree and went on to serve as an active board member of the Legal Aid Society of Cincinnati.

In 1957, she married Joe Jennings. She later married the late Fletcher Randolph and the late Emmanuel Herndon.

Irene was a well known beautician and was very good with hair. She later became a USPS letter carrier and late in age, she joined the work force with the IRS until her health began to fail. However, even in sickness, her plan was to return to work for the 2020 tax season. That was her plan, not our Heavenly Father’s. He said well done thy good and faithful servant, enter the Glory of the Lord. Longevity made her the matriarch of the family.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Roland Leggett and Millie Brown Leggett Patton; brothers, Daniel Cottrell, Morris Council, Jr.; husbands, Fletcher Randolph and Emmanuel Herndon; sister-in-law, Lucille Jennings Yarborough (Herbert); and niece, Debra Reed.

She leaves to cherish her memory: a devoted son, Roland “Atif” Randolph; a very special nephew, Robert “Butch” Shamel, Sr. (Gynelle), Morris Council, Jr. (Cynthia), and great niece, Ashle Reed Jones (Jeffery); a cousin, Deborah Wilson Ward (Bill); sister-in-laws, Barbra Cottrell, Inez Yarbough, Jeanette Shamel and Patricia Council; and a host of beloved nieces and nephews, other relatives and friends. A few special friends, Bernice Gaines and a second mother, Ms. Paralee Wilmer; a very special love of her life was her grand-dog, “Yuri”.