Randy Alexander was a mentor, a friend and a father figure who will be remembered for his impeccable style and inimitable flair on the dance floor.
Alexander, a longtime real estate agent and the eventual owner of McKay & Co. in Little Rock, died Friday at age 71.
A community volunteer in organizations like Club 99 Rotary and Boy Scouts of America, among others, friends recalled Alexander as a man of class and taste.
Always dressed immaculately, he would don one of his more than 200 ties with a neatly pressed suit every day. A methodical man, his wife, Gy, said Alexander would lay his clothes out for the week every Sunday.
But, above all else, Gy will remember her husband of 35 years as being kind and gentle.
"He always thought of others," she said. "He was a great, great man."
Alexander, who suffered from Alzheimer's, spent the last year of his life in Clarity Pointe, a senior-citizen living center in Little Rock that offers a special memory care program for patients like Alexander.
Sharon Davis, a nurses supervisor at the facility, said she bonded with Alexander from day one. When he first arrived at the home, Davis was taking a real estate course. Thinking a return to real estate might ease his transition, Davis would take her books to Alexander and he would sit with her and help her.
Davis quickly became one of Alexander's favorite caretakers -- a feeling she said was mutual. Davis would always assign herself to take care of Alexander, her "soul brother," and would even call to check in on him on her days off.
"It was never a bad day with Randy," she said. "He never seemed upset or anything."
Davis said the two liked to talk about soul music. Alexander liked Motown, James Brown and he knew every word to The Commodores' "Zoom." He was a dancer, an entertainer, and when he regained his ability to walk after a stint in the hospital, the first thing he did back at the home was dance for his caretakers.
"When [the nurses] used to walk in the room we'd say, 'Hey buddy' and he'd say, 'Hey buddy, you know I love you,'" Davis said. "He was a blessing to all of us and he was one of our angels. He'll continue to be one of our angels."
Alexander was a shrewd businessman as well. He worked as a sales agent, a manager and eventually as the owner of McKay for 28 years, retiring in 2010.
Those who worked with Alexander remember him most for his kindness and work ethic.
Paul Smith, retired president of WEHCO Newspapers, Inc. and a longtime friend of Alexander's, said Alexander was one of the gentlest men he's known.
"Everything he did, he did with a lot of class and consideration for the other person," Smith said. "You never heard him say anything bad about anyone, and I've never known anybody who cared as much about his customers and employees as Randy did."
Some of Smith's favorite memories of Alexander are the trips their families took together and the lunches they enjoyed as friends. Smith said he would take his briefcase to do business over lunch, but Alexander would refuse.
"He'd say, 'No, Paul, I don't want to have to sit here and listen to that. Let's just go to lunch and enjoy being with one another,'" Smith said.
Tonya Goss, who worked at McKay & Co., said Alexander's way of doing business made the job feel more like a home than a place of employment.
"I feel like I've never worked a day at McKay & Co.," she said. "It was just like another family, and Randy was the root of that."
Goss said Alexander never asked anyone to do a task he could do himself, whether it was business-related or simply picking up trash in a parking lot.
"If a person could start with him and learn from him how he treated other people, how he cared about other people and how he wanted to do the right thing regardless of how much time it took, this world would be different," she said.
State Desk on 07/24/2016