Tributes flood in for Tri-Cities musician killed in skydiving accident
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- Randy Hubbs, 70, died in a midair skydiving collision in Adams County on Sunday.
- An autopsy found multiple blunt force trauma and the death was ruled an accident.
- Family, friends and former students posted several tributes to Hubbs this week.
A flood of condolences and fond memories were posted to social media this week following the death of a respected Tri-Cities real estate investor and longtime musician.
Randy Hubbs, of Kennewick, died Sunday in a midair skydiving collision in Adams County. He was 70.
An autopsy this week revealed Hubbs’ cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma and his death was ruled an accident, said Adams County Coroner Tiffany Cutforth.
“The family asks for privacy as we grieve, and we are grateful beyond words for the outpouring of love from the students, friends and community whose lives Randy touched,” read a statement from the family.
Hubbs is remembered as a positive force who inspired scores of musicians, and “had a gift for seeing potential in young people before they could see it in themselves.”
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He directed the Pasco High School concert band, marching band, and jazz ensemble, among others, between 1979-1987. During his time teaching high school students, he founded the Mid-Columbia Brass Quartet, which he would play in for decades.
He worked as an associate professor and director of bands at Columbia Basin College for the next 26 years, and was active in the Columbia Basin Jazz Band and Cavalcade of Bands.
“He didn’t just teach music, he taught people how to live: With intention, with adventure, with gratitude and with full presence. Former students became lifelong friends. Some became colleagues. Many still called him regularly, still met him for lunch, still heard his voice telling them how proud he was of them,” the family continued in their statement.
In 2015, Hubbs transitioned into real estate investing, selling properties and helping clients buy and sell single- and multi-family investment properties, according to his LinkedIn.
He is remembered by family as a best friend, a devoted partner and a father who “practiced presence.” He was known as Icheche’ — the Basque word for grandfather — to his three grandchildren.
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Bailey Ehrgott, a Texas-based jazz guitarist, met Hubbs during her time at Columbia Basin College in Pasco and credits him for exposing her to the pathways to become a professional musician. He pushed, encouraged and believed in her and many bandmates.
She recounted on Facebook one interaction with an audience member during an intermission at a jazz concert. This person came up and told her it “must be hard being a female in jazz band,” and that she “probably won’t last long in this field.”
“I was young and naive at the time and honestly don’t remember how I responded, but Randy overheard the conversation and later pulled me aside and said: ‘The truth is, Bailey, you will go far. He’s a bonehead and doesn’t know anything. Don’t listen to any of that nonsense,’” she wrote.
Longtime friend Derek Munson says Hubbs was “more like a father” to him during their more than 25 year relationship.
He spoke to him just a few weeks before his death. The event has flooded him with memories and an “overwhelming” amount of grief.
“He first plucked me right out of high school to play in his music groups at CBC, where he mentored me and helped shape who I am today,” Munson wrote on Facebook. “He pushed me to be the best I could be, and always called to tell me how proud he was of me as I achieved various endeavors in my life. He even helped me buy the house I live in today, as my real estate agent.”
Eleven people were participating in the Sunday group jump organized by Skydive West Plains in Ritzville that killed Hubbs, officials say.
Nicole Klein, of Colville, collided with him and was later taken to a hospital, according to the Spokesman-Review. She injured her hip and is expected to make a full recovery.
Hubbs appeared to become incapacitated and unresponsive after the collision, and was no longer in control of his parachute canopy. Staff with the business watched on as he drifted away from the planned drop zone while hundreds of feet in the air.
Weather conditions do not appear to be a factor in the accident, the sheriff’s office says.
Hubbs’ family says the fact that he was still actively skydiving at his age “speaks volumes about his desire to live a life filled with adventure and excitement.”
“As our family processes this profound loss, we are holding close the love, the memories and the extraordinary life Randy lived. We take comfort in knowing he left this world doing something he truly loved — and that he spent every year before it making sure the people around him were doing the same,” they wrote.
