Coupeville remembers Randy Blindauer, whose work and sports legacy endured

Randy Allen Blindauer, the Coupeville High School graduate whose life bridged local construction and Wolves sports history, died June 8 at home at age 67. Born March 17, 1959, in Mitchell, South Dakota, he spent nearly 50 years in construction before becoming a civil superintendent, a career that friends and family said he approached with real pride.

In Coupeville, Blindauer’s footprint remains easiest to see in the places and milestones the community still talks about. He was part of the Coupeville football team that played the first game at Mickey Clark Field on Sept. 19, 1975, when the school’s home field opened against Chimacum. That field had been dedicated earlier that year in honor of Michael F. Clark, known as Mickey, a Coupeville figure who spent years organizing and supervising youth basketball, softball, baseball and swimming.

Blindauer’s place in the school’s athletic record grew even larger in March 1976, when he and his teammates beat Columbia (Burbank) 80-63 at the state basketball tournament. That win was the first state victory for any Coupeville High School team in any sport. The 1975-76 boys team remains the first Coupeville boys basketball squad to win a state tournament game, and the program’s total state tournament wins still number only two, with the other coming in 1979.

The remembrance of Blindauer also centers on the way he lived away from the scoreboard. He was described as someone who took great pride in his work and could fix nearly anything. If something was broken, family and friends knew who to call, a reputation that made him the steady person people leaned on long after high school.

He died surrounded by his family and is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren. In Coupeville, one of Washington’s oldest towns and the seat of Island County, his name now sits with the field, the teams and the traditions he helped shape.