Randall J. Romey

Vietnam War

Randy Romey was born in Carroll, IA, on October 29, 1948, to Clifford and Beatrice (Schwaller) Romey. He was raised in Templeton and attended Sacred Heart School before graduating from Kuemper High School with the class of 1966. After high school, Randy lived in Omaha, NE for a time before returning to Templeton.

On March 27, 1971, Randy was married to Susan Sporrer, a 1968 Kuemper graduate, at Sacred Heart Church in Templeton. Unfortunately, the marriage ended in divorce in 2004.

In 1978, Randy started his own business as an electrician in Templeton. In 1980, Randy joined the US Navy Reserves in Omaha, NE. He followed his father’s footsteps by joining the Naval Construction Battalion force known as the Seabees. The Omaha unit was part of the 15th Naval Mobile Construction Battalion. The Battalion’s motto is “Bat out of hell” and was earned during World War II for its speed and efficiency.

This battalion consists of personnel from ten detachments in five states: Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. It is headquartered in Belton, MO, where the base was developed and constructed by the Battalion itself. Randy participated in meetings and training to assure the battalion was motivated and ready to preform any assigned task if mobilized.

During his time in the Navy Reserve, Randy was designated a Senior Military Instructor (SMI). In 1989, he was honored to be joined in the 15th NCB by his son Matt resulting in one of the few three generation enlistments in the history of the Seabees. Randy was discharged from the US Navy Reserves in 1993.

Randy continued to operate Romey Electric until suffering a stroke in 2003. He was also involved in many community activities including being a city councilman. Randy died in Templeton on February 2, 2017 at age 68. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.