There aren’t words enough to express loss on such a scale. There are wounds so deep that love can’t help but flow freely from them. When someone is taken so violently from us that whiplash is the initial response, it is impossible to find reason in the midst of the ensuing emotional chaos. I, for one, petition God as to why death can happen like it does. I scroll through every theological concept I have ever studied and flip through every article or book on grief within reach to struggle through the drowning flood of sorrow. I find that no answers ever come to me in that way. Ever. So then I take the route I always end up taking in the end. I reflect on the person I have lost, not the manner in which I lost him.
Derek was a spirit of creativity. Since our first meeting, my mind has been boggled at his unique capacity for genuine humor, be it innocent or not (and quite honestly the latter always made my day). He had more imagination in his pinky than I did in my whole body. I was consistently amazed at his propensity to take something as random as a tube sock and create a character that drove people to laughter. Derek was perpetual motion embodied, and I always experienced him as this blur of color, the mini-me of my best friend. And let me tell you, Derek and Taylor together was more dangerous than playing hacky-sack with nitroglycerine. The dynamic duo of the Massey brothers never ceased to amaze me. I can typically keep Taylor from getting into too much of a mess, but Derek was always the inextinguishable fuse that lit the dynamite of their pairing.
Albus Dumbledore once remarked, “The ones we love never truly leave us.” I think Derek would appreciate that sentiment. He had a profound effect on the people who knew him, and it was impossible to know him and not feel better for it. I know that, personally, his legacy of creativity, ingenuity, and pure humor will always resonate with my soul. Derek thrived when put on the spot, whether through wildly entertaining prank calls, ask Stanley, or the production of the most laboriously low-budget superhero indie film ever created. It is impossible for me to mourn the loss of Derek without immediately thinking of all the joy he brought to my own life in the time I knew him.
There is a line in a song that seems so perfect in this moment: the world was never meant for one as beautiful as you. Rest in peace Derek. And because I know you’d appreciate it, may the Force be with you.
Derek was a spirit of creativity. Since our first meeting, my mind has been boggled at his unique capacity for genuine humor, be it innocent or not (and quite honestly the latter always made my day). He had more imagination in his pinky than I did in my whole body. I was consistently amazed at his propensity to take something as random as a tube sock and create a character that drove people to laughter. Derek was perpetual motion embodied, and I always experienced him as this blur of color, the mini-me of my best friend. And let me tell you, Derek and Taylor together was more dangerous than playing hacky-sack with nitroglycerine. The dynamic duo of the Massey brothers never ceased to amaze me. I can typically keep Taylor from getting into too much of a mess, but Derek was always the inextinguishable fuse that lit the dynamite of their pairing.
Albus Dumbledore once remarked, “The ones we love never truly leave us.” I think Derek would appreciate that sentiment. He had a profound effect on the people who knew him, and it was impossible to know him and not feel better for it. I know that, personally, his legacy of creativity, ingenuity, and pure humor will always resonate with my soul. Derek thrived when put on the spot, whether through wildly entertaining prank calls, ask Stanley, or the production of the most laboriously low-budget superhero indie film ever created. It is impossible for me to mourn the loss of Derek without immediately thinking of all the joy he brought to my own life in the time I knew him.
There is a line in a song that seems so perfect in this moment: the world was never meant for one as beautiful as you. Rest in peace Derek. And because I know you’d appreciate it, may the Force be with you.
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