Longtime Vicksburg resident and former director of the Mississippi Valley Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, James “Randy” Hanchey passed away peacefully on Feb. 4, 2018, surrounded by his loving family.

Randy was born on June 30, 1938, in Kinder, La., the second of six children born to James Aswell Hanchey and Wynonah Genius Hanchey.

He graduated from LaGrange High School in Lake Charles, La. He earned his Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1961 and became a Professional Engineer (P.E.) that same year. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in civil engineering from Tulane University, and went on to complete a two-year

graduate studies program in water resources management at Stanford University in 1971.

It was at the University of Southwestern Louisiana that he met the love of his life, Charlene Pellegrin Hanchey. Randy and Charlene were married on Jan. 28, 1961, and had just celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary last week. They shared an incredible life together that included three loving sons, Brian, Craig, and Glenn; in addition to their loving grandchildren, Austin, Claire and Andrew.

Randy began, and spent most of his professional career with, the U.S Army Corps of Engineers from 1961 to 1998. Randy became a member of the Federal Senior Executive Service and served in a number of key positions for the Corps during his career. From 1979 to 1989, he was the director for the Corps’ prestigious Institute for Water Resources at Fort Belvoir, Va. In 1989, he became director of the Mississippi Valley Division of the Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, where he served until 1998. As director, he oversaw the Corps throughout the central United States.

Before his retirement from the Corps after 37 years of service, he also served as the acting director of Civil Works in Washington, D.C. He was honored with the 1997 Silver de Fleury Medal Award, citing his tremendous individual contribution to U.S. Army engineering.

In 1998, he returned home to Louisiana and became deputy secretary for the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Randy worked in various positions throughout the department, including running the Office of Coastal Restoration and Management, where he worked passionately toward saving Louisiana’s vanishing coastline. He served as the Chairman of an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Task Force and was instrumental in publishing a treatise on restoring our coast, “Restoring Coastal Louisiana: Enhancing the Role of Engineering” in 2004.

In 2006, he was also a substantial contributor for the book “Drawing Louisiana’s New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana.” Some of his ideas on freshwater and sediment diversion from the Mississippi River are now being utilized today in the effort to restore coastal Louisiana. Randy retired from the Department of Natural Resources in late 2007 after serving in several Gubernatorial Administrations.

During his time with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Louisiana, Randy testified before numerous U.S. Congressional committees and Federal agencies regarding water resources issues. Many are still memorialized on C-Span. Additionally, he was a mainstay at various Committees in the Louisiana State Legislature regarding issues that impacted the Department of Natural Resources and coastal restoration.

But more than his distinguished professional career, Randy will be remembered most as a wonderful husband, father, brother, grandfather and friend. He was loved by everyone that he met. From being a youth league coach in basketball and baseball, Scout troop leader, passionate fan at his kid’s high school games to being best man at his son’s wedding, he was just an all-around incredible father.

He was an avid golfer for his entire life, and a die-hard LSU fan.

He is survived by his loving wife of 57 years, Charlene Hanchey; son and daughter-in- law, Craig and Faith Hanchey of Nashville, Tenn.; son and daughter-in- law, Brian and Charisse Hanchey of Baton Rouge, La.; son Glenn Hanchey of Anchorage, Ala.; granddaughter, Claire H. Seguin and her husband, Kevin Seguin of Nashville, Tenn.; grandson, Andrew P. Hanchey of Baton Rouge, La.; sister, Penny Bauer and her husband, Henry Bauer of Fort Collins, Colo.; sister, Judy Hanchey of New Orleans, La.; brother, Stephen Hanchey of Bangkok, Thailand; and sister, Candace Meadors and her husband Drexel Meadors of Lake Martin, Ala.

The family wishes to express their tremendous gratitude to Charlie’s Place and Alzheimer’s Services of the Capital Area, and asks that anyone wishing to remember him donate to their cause.

There will be a private service held for family, with a celebration of life to be announced later.

You will remain in our hearts and minds until we see you again in heaven. We love you!