Derek was giving of himself —he was happiest when he was helping others. He showed this in his job with children at the YMCA, his work with his brother Sean on the Obama campaign, his volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, and his presentations on behalf of Sudanese refugees.
Derek was a compassionate citizen of the world — his trip to Jordan
Derek was proud —proud of his knowledge of ancient military history and weapons and proud of the novel he and his dad co-authored about the battle of Marathon in 490 BC.
Derek was proud of his Legos, his ancient military weapons collection and his new smart phone.
The Persian poet Omar Khayyam said, “Our children are not our children. They are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.”
Derek was a beautiful soaring star in life’s continuum. While he was here he learned what he needed to learn and accomplished what he needed to accomplish. He achieved more in his 21 years than many of us do in a lifetime.
Derek passed on and moved on to a better place.
His shining arc is now complete.
