Randy Diltz is being remembered by friends and family as a charismatic, talented and loving 19-year-old, after he died in a car accident Aug. 19 near the Route 13 bypass roundabout south of Warrensburg.

Diltz was beginning his sophomore year at the University of Central Missouri in the digital media production program.

Mark von Schlemmer, a professor of communication and film, had Diltz in his spring 2018 media aesthetics class and said he had a knack for learning.

“He struck me as someone who was here to learn and working hard at it, and was willing to come in and ask questions about stuff when he didn’t quite understand it from class,” von Schlemmer said. “He didn’t have a lot of background in aesthetics…but he dove right in and was figuring it out.”

He said at one point Diltz did not fully understand how to create proper framing for a project and took it upon himself to visit von Schlemmer.

“He literally came to my office, and because he needed subjects to shoot, he brought some stuffed animals and set them up in the hallway,” von Schlemmer said and laughed.

Diltz’s teachers in St. Louis had nice comments to say too.

“He was a committed scholar and talented athlete, and he brought his amazing smile and contagious energy into every room he entered,” said Kelly Garrett, executive director of KIPP St. Louis Public Schools.

“We will remember Randy for his sense of humor, his resilience in the face of challenges and the deep and genuine concern he had for others. He loved his family, friends and community in a way that was unmatched, and he lived to make his parents proud.”

Diltz impacted his friends as well as his teachers.

“Randy was my brother, not blood, but blood couldn’t have made our bond stronger,” said Sonye Turner, a friend of Diltz’s. “I told him everything since our freshman year of high school. I grew up in an unstable home but venting to Randy made that all go away.”

Turner spent a lot of time with Diltz and shared one of her favorite moments.

“The summer before sophomore year, we used to just kick it on the porch and eat ice cream and just talk about everything. I miss those days.”

On a tribute wall through McClendon Mortuary & Cremation Services, Beatrice Ann Vanzant-Smith signed her message, “your other mother.”

She wrote, “In my opinion, Little Rann as I called him, was the dream son. One that any mother would love to call a son. Little Rann was very respectful, charming, hard working, loving and wore a smile that would melt the heart of any ice cold human being.”

Vanzant-Smith added “Little Rann”  performed everything with passion and tried his best in all that he did.

“You have left a void in the community and in the world that can not (sic) be filled,” Vanzant-Smith said.

Kenton Diltz, Randy’s uncle, fondly remembered his nephew.

“My nephew was way before his time, always living the good life, no matter what,” he said. “My only nephew for the longest time, he was like my son too.”

He said Randy Diltz was intelligent and willing to learn.

“The thing I loved so much is that he was good at actually listening and taking advice, which made him an excellent learner,” Kenton Diltz said. “He was so smart and wise. I’m proud to be one of those he looked up to and helped him along the way.”

Randy left a lasting impression on the UCM community as well as family and friends in St. Louis.

There’s an online tribute wall on which friends and family have been leaving condolences.