Basketball and baseball were lifelong passions for Edward J. Randa. He grew up on the Southwest Side of Chicago, where family members said he often felt like “a salmon swimming upstream,” in his devotion to the Cubs. “He was hugely outnumbered in his neighborhood, but he was fiercely proud of being a Cubbies fan,” said his daughter Tamara Wilson. “It didn’t matter if they won or lost, he backed them all the way.” Mr. Randa, 77, formerly of Berwyn and Lisle, a retired mechanical engineer for Motorola, died from complications related to scleroderma Tuesday, March 23, in Central DuPage Hospital, Winfield. Mr. Randa was a graduate of Morton High School in Cicero, where he played center on the basketball team. “He was very proud of his involvement in sports in high school,” his daughter said. “Staying in good shape was important to him, because he wanted to keep playing even after he got older.” Mr. Randa was drafted into the Army toward the end of World War II and served with the military police in Paris. After his discharge, he traveled through Eastern Europe to visit relatives. He attended the Allied School of Mechanical Trades in Chicago, where he studied mechanical drafting. He got a job at Motorola in Franklin Park, where he worked as a mechanical parts inspector before becoming a senior mechanical engineer. He retired in 1985 after 37 years with the company. Mr. Randa enjoyed fishing, gardening and woodworking. “He has always been very good with his hands,” said his daughter. “He helped put an addition on our house and built a wonderful puppet show theater for my day-care service.” Since 1995, Mr. Randa lived in the Tabor Hills retirement community in Naperville. Other survivors include a son, Edward; a sister, Margaret; and four grandchildren. Services will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday in Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home, 44 S. Mill St., Naperville.
