Rande Harris -- (1953 – 2015)

She had a true love of theater, horses and was a giving mentor and caring friend. Rande Harris' knowledge and expertise of wigs, make-up and costuming will be missed not only by her brothers and sisters of Local 706, but to the numerous "minions" she mentored and encouraged. Although she had a long history with theater, she worked as a paralegal for a number of years before returning to her true love. She started with local community groups and then began working on the hair/make-up crew at the American Musical Theater of San Jose where she met her mentors, 706 members Sharon Ridge and Robin Church. The American Ballet Theater, Ballet San Jose, Lamplighters, Balagan Theater, Santa Clara Performing Arts, San Jose Civic Light Opera, Lyric Opera, American Musical Theater , San Jose Cleveland Ballet and touring companies kept her in demand, going from production to production. Rande became a Local 706 Regional member in 2003 and became the resident Hair and Makeup Designer at the West Bay Opera and in 2008 she traveled with Ballet San Jose to China.

(On her online website she stated) "I often think theater is like a rich cake. Unfrosted cake alone is delicious, but add icing and decoration and it becomes a party. To me, wigs and make-up are the icing on the actor's cake. While a show can be wonderful without wigs, add them and you have something which enhances the performer's art and the viewer's experience. While not absolutely essential, it is interesting to me that at each level of theater -- from the smallest high school performance or community theater show to the big regional and touring companies – wigs can build on the scene and step up the level of interest. It allows the actors to "put on" their characters in a much more personal way and brings out nuances that otherwise might have been missed. It helps set the scene and time period and even gives the viewer insight to the character's personality."

The stage lights are a little dimmer without our sister who passed away from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). She is survived by her husband Tim, daughters Sabrina and Samantha, her brothers and grandchildren. Rande passed away on January 5, 2015 but Local 706 was not notified until just recently. Donations may be made to the Forbes Norris MDA/ALS Research and Treatment Center.