Retired shift captain Randy Treat, 71, of Kingston, Arkansas, became a firefighter in January of 1966 in the Municipal Fire Department of Springdale, Arkansas. On February 13, 1968, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. On July 16, 1971, Randy was promoted to captain, a position he held until his retirement in March of 1986.

Upon retirement, Randy ran a welding shop and a cattle ranch. He returned to the University of Arkansas and completed his bachelor’s degree in agriculture education in 1992. His first teaching job was with Decatur Public School in Decatur, Arkansas, where he taught agriculture education until the summer of 1998, when he and his wife, Shirley, packed up and moved back to her hometown of Kingston, Arkansas. Randy started the Kingston Public School’s Agriculture Department.

In January of 2005, he joined the Kingston Rural Volunteer Fire Department, where he was an active firefighter, safety officer, and vice president of the Board of Directors until his death. He died on August 26, 2017, while responding to an assistance call for the Kingston Rural Volunteer Fire Department. While responding on that call, Randy suffered a medical emergency himself and ultimately lost his life that day. His wife, Shirley, also an EMT and volunteer firefighter; his daughter, Myle; and his six-year-old grandson, Ryder, frantically worked to perform CPR until fellow firefighters and the ambulance arrived at the scene.

Randy is remembered by anyone that crossed paths with him in his elder years as the big man with the handlebar mustache. No one ever had to wonder what he was thinking; there was always a suggestion fixing to be given, whether you wanted to hear it or not. He is missed by so many, as Randy wore so many hats. He was a rancher, firefighter, educator, granddad, father, and husband. Anyone who met this man, no matter which hat he was wearing, never forgot him and walked away a better person.