Derek was born at home in Romford to his parents Emily and Joseph. He had 2 older brothers, David and Alan, and a younger sister, Jean.

Derek went to Redden Court School in Romford and leaving aged 16, began an apprenticeship to be an Electrician. The family were all in the newspaper trade and he worked for the Daily Mail, completing 38 years of service, until he took voluntary redundancy and retired aged 54. He was known for his dedication and hard work and always made efforts to travel into London with his friend John to meet with fellow retirees from the company for drinks on the first Wednesday of every month.

The family enjoyed a boisterous childhood enjoying holidays in a caravan in Maldon. It became a family joke but Derek was prone to nose bleeds and had many injuries, and made so many trips to hospital that his mother even had a special hospital shirt for him to wear. His sister Jean recalls it was a mad house but happy days, often playing cowboys and Indians.

Derek liked to travel the world going to America, Canada, and Hong Kong, often on his own or with friends. His favourite sights were Niagara Falls and the Hong Kong skyline.

Despite being a quiet and a shy person he went to Thailand in his early 20's and although he didn't say it he became lovestruck. He met Sanga and it was love at first sight. They were opposites, very much ying and yang, but made for each other.

He went there many times to see Sanga. Eventually parting from Sanga proved hard and when he returned to Thailand he told her he had missed her very much. When he was 28 years old, he plucked up the courage to ask her to marry him. Sanga thought he was drunk and told him to think about it and come back in a week. He returned and again told her wanted to marry her and she said yes.

They married legally and four days later on July 19th 1986 they were married again with all Sanga's family and friends around in Surin. It was only a few days after the wedding that he then phoned home to tell his family. When he told his mother, she said “If you love her, we will love her too.”

Over the years they returned to Thailand often and their favourite place was Pattaya, a small village at first but now a popular destination. There is a delightful story from the most recent time that they visited Pattaya in 2014. Sanga and Derek were in a bar when a group of lady-boys came in. They said to him “You are a handsome man!” He replied, “Unfortunately, so are you!”

In 1988, Joanne was born, their only child, but Derek was very family orientated. He enjoyed taking Sanga and Joanne to Europe, visiting Venice, Paris and Gibraltar and in this country, Norfolk, Cornwall and Anglesey.

Sanga is a Buddhist whilst Derek was brought up a Christian but this posed no problem for he appreciated other faiths and often went with Sanga to the Buddhist temples in Wimbledon and Hemel Hempstead.

Sadly we cannot halt the passage of time, nor do we know what life has in store for us. Derek was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2012 and developed problems with his pancreas in 2015. In May 2017 he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. He battled hard but with Sanga and Joanne at his side he passed peacefully away, just 4 days after diagnosis.

Death is never easy to accept and although you see your loved one declining it does not register until the last breath and they are with us no more. Derek leaves a big hole in the lives and hearts of his many friends and family. There is no quick fix, only time will heal the wound and pain ease but we will never forget him. He leaves us with many, many happy memories of a fine man who has graced our lives in so many ways. Thank you for being part of our lives.

- Written by Reverend John Merrill