Kerry Alden Randolph

Kerry Alden Randolph, M.D., 74, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, formerly of Springfield, Missouri, died Friday, October 16, 2026, after a long illness with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), with his wife, Gail, at his side.

Kerry was born November 30, 1951, in Maquoketa, lowa, to Ken and Carmelita "Carm" Randolph, and grew up in nearby Lost Nation. He attended Union Presbyterian Church, played basketball, and was active in Scouting, earning the rank of Eagle Scout. He graduated from Lost Nation High School in 1970 as valedictorian. After three years at lowa State University he entered Creighton University School of Medicine, where he received his medical degree in 1977 and was admitted to Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society.

He completed his internal medicine residency at Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis, Washington, and later served at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he was named the Army's Captain Physician of the Year, an honor that came with a trip anywhere he chose. He chose NASA headquarters. During his residency he was lead author of a published paper on a form of Legionnaires disease that had not been described before, work he was proud of. He left the Army with the rank of Major.

In 1983 Kerry and Gail settled in Springfield, Missouri, where he joined the Diagnostic Clinic and practiced medicine for more than 30 years. He served as Chief of Medicine at Cox Hospital, and in his later years practiced hyperbaric and wound care medicine with CoxHealth, retiring in 2014. He was a gifted diagnostician who took the hard cases home and read until he had the answer, and his patients knew him as a plainspoken physician who listened well. In 2021 he and Gail moved to Tulsa to be near family.

Kerry married Gail Bjella on May 25, 1974, in Cedar Rapids, lowa, and they held hands for the next 52 years. Together they raised two children and built a life around the things he loved: the outdoors, travel, horses, pottery, kayaking and fishing, and a stack of medical journals and Scientific Americans by the bed. He worked his land and his woods, grew a vegetable garden big enough to share, cooked for his family at the grill, and built whatever was needed: a computer downstairs in Tennessee, backyard playgrounds in both Tennessee and Springfield, and a zipline that was entirely his idea. The place was never without animals: dogs, cats, and horses, but also chickens, geese, rabbits, miniature goats, and even peacocks. During the pandemic he and Gail played pickleball in the driveway every day.

Music ran through his whole life, from piano and electric guitar to the church choir, and he played his guitar on his very last day. He was in church every Sunday, even after a night on call, and in Springfield he was active in the men's group at Schweitzer United Methodist Church. He was an ethical man with sound judgment and a deep sense of fairness, and he showed up for the people he loved.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Gail; his son, David Randolph, and wife Olga, of Tulsa, and their sons, Lucas and lan; his daughter, Jen Randolph Reise, of Minneapolis, and her children, Mere and Elaine; his sisters, Joylene McFarland (Bill) of Tampa, Florida, and Jody Smicker (Dan) of DeWitt, lowa; and many fun and interesting nieces and nephews and lovely in-laws. He was preceded in death by his parents.

A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 21, 2026, in Mason Chapel at Asbury Church, 6767 S. Mingo Road, Tulsa. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Kerry's honor to CurePSP (psp.org), to Asbury Church, or to a charity of your choice.