Randy Stigelman, Class of 1965

Distinguished Alumni for 2010

In 1964, while playing football for RHS, Randy Stigelman was injured and his life forever changed. His broken neck left him totally paralyzed. It also changed football helmets nationwide for everyone.

The high school collected buttons for him and held other fund raisers to pay his staggering medical bills.

His faith in God kept him strong, and he always believed there was a plan for him. He graduated from Wright State University in 1972, and worked briefly as an accountant. He was later hired by Riley Children’s Hospital and thus began his career in healthcare.

He and his wife Michelle Wankmuller, also Class of 1965, moved to the warmth of Florida with her job. They moved 11 times in the next 13 years, acquiring several small hospitals and nursing homes in rural Georgia.

Their two children, daughter Laura Gattis and son Brad, were the beneficiaries of their father’s fund raising efforts for their childhood interests.

The Stigelmans were well traveled and Randy participated in snow skiing, hot air balloon rides, whitewater rafting, scuba diving, and even flying a glider.

In 2009, Randy and Michelle were struck by a speeding driver that left Randy severely injured again, now living with constant pain.

Unable to come back to Richmond in 2010 for their class reunion, he was honored by the Alumni office as our Distinguished Alumni in 2011.  Michelle and Randy live in St. Petersburg, FL, and are seeking research and treatment for Randy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  380 Hub Etchison Parkway, Richmond, IN 47374

 (765) 973-3338