Randall George Heffron, Jr. was born on April 10, 1991 at Roper Hospital in Charleston, SC.  He was the eldest son of Robin Walker Heffron and the late Dr. Randall “Randy” George Heffron, DMD.   He was Christened in baptism on August 4, 1991 at St. Andrews Lutheran Church and a member of All Saints Lutheran Church in Mt. Pleasant at the time of his death.  He entered into eternal life with his Heavenly Father on September 10, 2011 at the age of twenty following a tragic choking accident just a week into his sophomore year in college.  No doubt his Dad was waiting for him with open arms having been in Heaven seventeen years before Randall’s untimely death.

Randall took great pride in being an American and was exceedingly fond of his home town Charleston, South Carolina.  Randall was an exceptional athlete who played Tee Ball, Baseball, Soccer, Basketball and Tennis growing up on Tradd Street.  He especially loved his time in a boat or in the water swimming.  His time spent on Sullivan’s Island with his grandparents was important and special to him. He attended Second Presbyterian Pre-school & Kindergarten, The O’Quinn School, Mason Preparatory School, and was a 2010 graduate of Bishop England High School on Daniel Island.  Growing up he enjoyed any and all competition with his brother, Walker.  Hardly a day started or ended without a friendly game or two of competitive ping-pong, basketball or a video game played with fun and laughter against his brother.  They seemed to push each other to be better athletes and better people.  Randall struggled with asthma as a child and ended up being the slower of the two and so, one could say that running was never Randall’s favorite thing.  I watched Randall work hard to meet the lines in the sand that come with trying to make the basketball team in high school.  We have many funny stories of his attempts to avoid the run in tennis and basketball.  Randall never backed down from a challenge though and what he lacked in distance speed he made up for with finesse in almost every sport. Walker would attribute his basketball shot as a shooting guard at Bishop England to his brother, Randall.  Randall’s infamous drop shot was the demise of many of his tennis opponents.

By the age of ten Randall decided to focus his energy on tennis and basketball.  He earned All Conference Basketball honors and was awarded the 2006 Most Improved Player Award for middle school basketball at Mason Prep.  He earned a spot on the Junior Varsity Basketball team at Bishop England High School.  Randall played the number one tennis position in middle school while gaining success in USTA tennis.  He entered Bishop England High School having received The Roy Barth Tennis Excellence Award where he led his middle school team to four consecutive City Championship titles with his brother. Randall’s USTA ranking was consistently top 10 in South Carolina in each age group (Ranked #2 in SC in Boy’s 18’s).  He was a top eight Belton finisher every year of the competition and a Southern Qualifier in every age group.  He was a South Carolina Hard Court Champion (2 time champion, 5 time finalist), South Carolina Clay Court Championship Finalist Two years, A Sea Pines Champion and Finalist, and held eight City of Charleston singles and multiple doubles City Championship titles.  He won the K-Swiss Junior Clay Court Championship at Kiawah Island in four age groups and was a finalist 3 years.  He was a SC State Doubles Champion and Finalist, a Junior Davis Cup Team Selection, and SC USTA Top 10 High Performance selection 9 years.  Randall finished in the round of 16 in the boy’s 18’s southern closed tournament in 2008-2009. Randall’s USTA ranking was as high as 30 in the South, and he was the 2009 SC USTA Wilton McKinney Award Finalist.  He was a four- year letterman at Bishop England High School where he played the number 1 singles and number 1 doubles position with his brother Walker for the Bishops. At the time of his death Randall held a record for singles and doubles career wins at Bishop England (76-6).  He was the 2010 Lowcountry Player of the Year having been selected for the All Lowcountry Team four consecutive years. He received All-State honors and led the Bishops to four straight play offs.  He served as Team Captain . 

Randall was a loyal volunteer as part of the Ball Crew for The Family Circle Tennis Cup (Now the Volvo Car Open) on Daniel Island from the age of 10 and held dear to his heart the USTA supported “Courting Kids Program” with the City of Charleston.  He was a highly recruited junior tennis player and realized his dream to play Division I college tennis at Wofford College. His tennis accomplishments are long and storied but it is not the wins and the records that leave us speechless at his loss. There will be many tennis players before him and after him who will no doubt win more Championships and achieve better records. He was one of the best in the game in a sport he loved at the time period he competed in it. Randall’s greatest contributions though to his friends, competitors, teammates, and the sport of tennis are the intangibles that leave us looking for ways to perpetuate and honor his memory with this Foundation. 

While many players may break his record and exceed his success few will attain to that unique combination of talent, hard work and the ability to earn respect from their competitors win or lose simply because of the way he made them feel as human beings.  Many say Randall could have played on the Pro Tour but Randall’s goal was to play for his coach at Wofford and return home to live and work among his friends in a city that is easy to love. And, a community he felt called to serve.  Charleston was part of his fabric, part of his DNA and that is where he wanted to spend his time and talents. In the combined words of two of his coaches, “He was a strong, powerful, talented, athlete with a kind and gentle soul full of love and compassion whose greatest gift centered around his enormous heart for others.” (Wofford College Coach Rod Ray / Teaching Professional Jason Nius/ City of Charleston Tennis).

He was the consummate teammate selfless and humble; making significant contributions to his team with his heart and humor.   It is his heart that his family wishes to perpetuate and honor with The Randall Heffron Foundation. One of his coaches, Dr. Sophie Woorons-Johnston, “remembers the young man, charming, polite and confident.  He turned his competitors into his allies with his usual poise and grace.” He has been described as a one of kind friend.  To his family he was a precious child of God.  Randall’s legacy will always be that of a Southern Gentlemen on and off the court. In the words of his teammate Stuart Robertson (Wofford College) Randall’s life most certainly was “ a life well lived loving and lifting others.”