Randy Dawson, former Snohomish funeral home owner, dies at 87

By Leslie Moriarty

Herald Writer

SNOHOMISH — When he wasn’t busy helping others, Randy Dawson liked to take a break and spend a few minutes with his friends at the Little Dipper Cafe.

"He’d shake the dice at the Little Dipper with his buddies to determine who was paying for coffee," said longtime friend and business colleague Jim Letson. "He was quite a guy."

Dawson, 87, died Tuesday in Port Angeles.

For many years, Dawson carried on the family tradition, working in the funeral business. He was part owner of Purdy &Dawson Funeral Home in Snohomish from the late 1940s through the mid-1980s, when he retired.

After that, he and his wife, Phyllis, lived at their second home on Hood Canal for about 10 years and then spent a few years back in Snohomish before settling in Port Angeles in 1995.

During the years that he had the funeral home in Snohomish, he and his wife lived in the apartment behind the business, Letson said.

Letson worked with Dawson in the funeral home company and is now area vice president for Service Corp. International, a parent company to the Purdy funeral homes.

In the early days, Purdy &Dawson in Snohomish not only met the community’s funeral needs, but also offered ambulance services.

"Randy liked driving the ambulances," Letson said. "If he wasn’t helping families with their funeral needs, he was helping them with their other needs."

Dawson received the Snohomish Citizen of the Year award in the late 1950s and was known for his work in various community groups, including the Kiwanis, Eagles, Lions and Masons.

He played football in high school and as an adult liked watching Snohomish High School football.

He was educated in mortuary science at Washington State University and the California College of Mortuary Science, and became a funeral director, the same as his father, uncle and brother. He began his career in California but also worked in Kelso.

"He helped an awful lot of folks in the Snohomish area over the years," Letson said. "He use to know everyone. But he outlived many of his friends and colleagues.

"He was a very caring and gentle man."

Services for Dawson will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at Snohomish United Methodist Church, where he was an active member for years.

You can call Herald Writer Leslie Moriarty at 425-339-3436

or send e-mail to moriarty@heraldnet.com.

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