Randy St. John, 75, of Camp Hill, passed away from cancer early Saturday morning October 28, 2023, at home with his wife, Cindy, of 52 years, and two children, Will and Alex, by his side. Born in Nutley, NJ on October 16, 1948, he was the son of Randolph Sr. and Marion (Aiton) St. John. He was the brother of Adrienne Gayle St. John, who was 8 years his senior.Randy's father was 48 years old when he was born. Randy liked to point out that his grandfather was born in 1857, before the Civil War.

He grew up in Brighton, a suburb of Rochester, NY, and graduated from Pittsford High School in 1966. He was a 1970 graduate of Kenyon College. Upon graduation, he worked at Knapp Shoe Store in Rochester selling shoes while attending University of Rochester to obtain a Master's Degree in English. At that time he applied for English teaching positions at several Independent schools within a 7 hour drive of Rochester. Shortly thereafter, a call came from Jack Horner, Headmaster of The Harrisburg Academy, who said he could not let another Kenyon grad go by. Jack had graduated from Kenyon 20 years before Randy.

In August 1971, Randy married his high school sweetheart, Cindy Clark, in the backyard of her parent's home in Brighton, and moved to Mechanicsburg, PA to start teaching in September. They lived in a rented house on a farm where Randy learned about farming and gardening from Bob Gibney. Bob indulged Randy by plowing a large garden plot and suggesting that he plant by the full moon which would make plants germinate faster. Bob was the polar opposite of Randy but they forged a friendship over Randy's curiosity about raising cows and crops on the 150 acre farm.

From 1971 until 2017 Randy was a teacher at the Harrisburg Academy in Lemoyne, PA. Alongside teaching English, he held a wealth of other positions during his tenure: Soccer Coach, School Bus Driver, Crossing Guard, Dean of Studies, Summer School Director, Head of Upper School, College Guidance, Dean of Faculty, Assistant Headmaster, Philosophy Teacher, and Theory of Knowledge Teacher and was repeatedly a key speaker at graduation ceremonies. He served on the Harrisburg Academy Board of Trustees from 1991-1999 and was Board Chair from 1995-1998. In 1989, Randy was awarded the Randolph St. John Teaching Award, which was aptly named in his honor, for his model of excellence in classroom instruction. In 1999, the Board of Trustees presented him with the Friend of the School Award in grateful appreciation for his extraordinary contributions and service to the Harrisburg Academy. In 2008 he was awarded the Vance McCormick Medal, the highest honor granted by the Academy, for his dedicated leadership and meritorious service to the school.

When he first started teaching, he was both a contemporary and mentor to students who were only 5 years his junior. Many former students recall how he enriched their lives and contributed to their personal happiness and professional success. In his 46 years of teaching, he genuinely believed in making people feel good about themselves. As a teacher, he challenged teenagers to think deeply about life's big questions and he firmly believed in "read and discuss" where students felt free to express ideas without judgment. He truly loved going to school every day.

Following his full-time teaching duties at the Academy, Randy served as Vice President of the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association from 1989 to 2017. Spending many days at the State Capitol, he worked in Government Relations, edited publications including the Food Industry Advisor, and helped organize conventions and member events. Building partnerships with Governors, legislative and executive staff, municipal officials or PFMA teammates, Randy brought intellect, humor and generosity to projects he managed, having a bit of fun in the process. Just as he did at school, he forged life-long friendships with the people he worked with.

Perhaps informed by Plato's principle of what it means to live "the good life", which he taught to his philosophy students, he deeply understood the art of enjoying and living a virtuous life. Randy's mantra was to always have an "STLFT" - Something To Look Forward To - An STLFT could be as simple as a chocolate chip cookie, entertaining friends for dinner or a fishing trip to Montana. STLFTs were what kept Randy going and he made sure to always have them, especially after his cancer diagnosis. He said his gratitudes everyday.

He loved to cook and one of his famous meals was the Thanksgiving turkey and recipes including chocolate chip cookies, which he enjoyed making with his granddaughters, Eve & Athena. Over the years he cycled through perfecting other specialties such as pizza, ribs, gumbo, and bread, infamously known as "dad's bread" which was not complete without homemade honey butter. He had a deep love for food, which he spoke about with almost everyone he encountered. Some of his favorites included Urban Churn vanilla ice cream, D'Nics pulled pork sandwich, Jim's cheesesteaks from Philly, the Lagoon from Jackson House, David's House of Brisket in Brooklyn, NY, wood fired pizza which he attempted to recreate many times on the grill at home.

Among many other hobbies, including woodworking, playing the drums and community gardening, Randy was an avid fly fisherman and traveled extensively to Central and North America, fishing in locations such as the Big Horn in Montana, Erie, PA, Raquette and Horseshoe Lake in NY, Mexico, Belize, and the Bahamas. He was a member of the Conewago Fly Fisherman, and The Philip Garbutt Rod and Gun Club.

Friendships were very important to Randy. He had many enduring friendships from Mrs.Plass' Nursery School, to Allen Creek School and Pittsford High School, to teachers and students at Harrisburg Academy, to business colleagues, fishing and golf buddies, and new friends at Horseshoe Lake where he spent many summers. The richness and diversity of personalities of his friends were the fuel that kept life interesting and fun for Randy who was always interested
in the world of ideas.

Surviving Randy is his wife, Cynthia (Clark) St. John, of Camp Hill, PA, his daughter, Alexandra St. John, of Brooklyn, NY, his son, William St. John and his wife Colleen Barry, of Long Island City, NY. He delighted in his role as 'Papa Ran' to his two grandchildren, Eve St. John and Athena St. John.

All funeral services will be private and handled at the convenience of his family. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made online to the "The Fund for the Abramson Cancer Center" by clicking here,
https://giving.apps.upenn.edu/fund?program=MC&fund=600499 . Your gift will play an important role in advancing cancer research.