The DCH Foundation recently hosted a gathering to celebrate the Randall family and the lasting impact of the Pettus Randall Pastoral Care Program, which provides spiritual and emotional support to patients and families at the Lewis and Faye Manderson Cancer Center in Tuscaloosa.
The program honors the legacy of the late Tuscaloosa publisher Pettus Randall III and reflects the Randall family’s commitment to ensuring that patients and their loved ones have compassionate support during some of life’s most difficult moments.
For patients facing cancer, care often extends beyond physical treatment. A diagnosis can bring significant emotional, social and spiritual needs for patients and those closest to them. Through the Pettus Randall Pastoral Care Program, chaplains provide confidential, one-on-one comfort and encouragement to Manderson Cancer Center patients and their families.
Manderson Cancer Center chaplains are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., according to DCH, and spiritual care is part of the Supportive Care program DCH and the University of Alabama launched at the center in 2025.
The program’s connection to the Randall family grew from a deeply personal experience. Pettus Randall was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2002 and received care at what is now the Manderson Cancer Center.
He died on September 7, 2002, at 57.
Dr. Cathy Randall, his widow and the longtime director of the University of Alabama honors program, reflected on the professionalism, compassion and encouragement Pettus and their family experienced from his DCH care team throughout his cancer journey.
“Pettus was the love of my life and would have given so much more to this world had cancer not taken him at age 57. It is deeply meaningful to see his legacy honored through this program,” Dr. Randall said.
“The compassion and encouragement we received during his cancer journey brought us great comfort. Knowing that his name now carries that same care forward to other patients and families is a beautiful and lasting tribute to him.”
Dr. Randall was honored by Yellowhammer News in 2018 as a Woman of Impact.
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The DCH Cancer Center opened in 2009, seven years after Randall’s death, and was later named for Lewis and Faye Manderson after the couple gave more than $5 million to the health system’s capital campaign.
DCH says Manderson is now the only cancer center in West Alabama accredited by the American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer, the only cancer center in Alabama with the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s QOPI certification and one of 18 certified members of the MD Anderson Cancer Network.
“The Randall Family’s generosity has created a legacy of compassion that continues to touch patients and families when they need it most,” said Brandt LaPish, vice president of development for DCH Health System and executive director of The DCH Foundation.
“This celebration was an opportunity to express our gratitude to the Randall Family and recognize the meaningful difference the Pettus Randall Pastoral Care Program continues to make.”
The celebration brought together members of the Randall family, DCH leadership, The DCH Foundation and others connected to the program to recognize its continued impact and the family whose generosity helped make it possible.
Founded in 1973, The DCH Foundation secures financial resources to help DCH Health System provide the best possible care to the people it serves.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
