Derek was tragically killed in a commercial airplane crash in 1984, at the age of 13. Especially for those who knew and cared about Derek, losing him was devastating. Derek would have likely gone all through school with us and graduated among us.
I played soccer and sports with Derek. We liked the same girl in 6th grade. I remember the day and the last few minutes before Derek was killed as I was playing outside with my brother Gabe in our front yard in Laguna Lake when I saw his plane fly overhead our house. Just a few minutes later is when we heard the fire engines and emergency vehicles responding to the accident and we saw some off in the distance on the other side of the lake. I was very sad to learn back then that Derek had passed away and have thought about him many times as life has gone on. He would have been a good classmate to us all. God Bless. Chris Garcia...
I, too, remember Derek and his family well. A song was sang in his memory "Simple Gifts" and I think of him every time I hear a choir sing it. I sing it a lot to my kids so they remember the little things. "Tis a gift to be simple tis a gift to be free tis a gift to come down where we ought to be and when we find ourselves in the place just right t'will be in the valley of love and delight!
When true simplicity is gained to bow and to bend we shant be ashamed to turn, turn, will be our delight till by turning, turning we come round right." Krissy (Peterson) Andrade
Christopher L. Garcia
I played soccer and sports with Derek. We liked the same girl in 6th grade. I remember the day and the last few minutes before Derek was killed as I was playing outside with my brother Gabe in our front yard in Laguna Lake when I saw his plane fly overhead our house. Just a few minutes later is when we heard the fire engines and emergency vehicles responding to the accident and we saw some off in the distance on the other side of the lake. I was very sad to learn back then that Derek had passed away and have thought about him many times as life has gone on. He would have been a good classmate to us all. God Bless. Chris Garcia...Krissy Peterson (Andrade)
I, too, remember Derek and his family well. A song was sang in his memory "Simple Gifts" and I think of him every time I hear a choir sing it. I sing it a lot to my kids so they remember the little things."Tis a gift to be simple
tis a gift to be free
tis a gift to come down where we ought to be
and when we find ourselves in the place just right
t'will be in the valley of love and delight!
When true simplicity is gained
to bow and to bend we shant be ashamed
to turn, turn, will be our delight
till by turning, turning we come round right."
Krissy (Peterson) Andrade