Paulene E. Randall; School District Cook

Ventura resident Paulene E. Randall died Friday after a brief illness. She was 66.

Born in Omaha, Neb., on Sept. 2, 1931, Randall had lived in Ventura County for 54 years. She was married to Robert Randall, also of Ventura, on Aug. 5, 1949. They had met at a dance in Foster Park.

“She caught his eye, and she loved to dance,” said daughter Roberta Wynn.

Randall worked as a cook for the Santa Paula School District for 15 years and then for the county’s Head Start Program, where the students nicknamed her Cookie.

Randall was also an avid poker player, taking regular trips to Laughlin, Nev.

“It was nothing for her to stay up nearly all night,” Wynn said.

Family members say Randall was always supportive of friends and family.

“She had a heart of gold, lively, very friendly,” Wynn said. “Everybody just loved her. She was just quite a character.”

Along with her husband, Randall is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Paul and Anne Randall of Santa Paula; son and daughter-in-law, Richard and Anita Randall of Norco, Calif.; daughter and son-in-law, Roberta and Mac Wynn of Norman, Okla.; two brothers, George Buzbee of Omaha and Larry Evans of San Jose; one sister, Brenda Brough of Westley, Calif.; and five grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by a brother, Eugene Evans.

Services will be held Tuesday at 2 p.m. at the Santa Paula Cemetery. All memorial donations may be made to the UCLA Medical Center-Heart Transplant Program, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90024.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Pierce Brothers Stetler Mortuary, Santa Paula.