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This Memorial was created in the memory of
DEREK R. STROH.
December 23, 1989 - September 14, 2008
A Loving Son, Brother, Grandson and Uncle who left his family way to soon.
This memorial was created to keep Derek’s memory alive. Derek was 18 when he passed away he was so full of life and love. He had the biggest heart of anyone I have ever known. We will never get over his death, his passing has left such a void in our lives.
OUR SON DEREK WAS THE MOST PRECIOUS GIFT WE COULD HAVE RECEIVED. BORN TWO DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS, WE PLACED HIM DOWN UNDER OUR TREE FOR A FEW MINUTES AND WATCHED OUR LITTLE MIRACLE FROM GOD OR POSSIBLY SANTA. CHARLIE LIT FIRE WORKS THAT NIGHT TO CELEBRATE HIS ARRIVAL.
DEREK'S LIFE STARTED OFF A LITTLE CLUMSY; FALLING INTO WALLS, TRIPPING ON AIR, SO WE HELD HIM A LOT. HE HAD DIFFICULTY COMMUNICATING SO, HE POINTED AND WE JUMPED. TRYING TO GET HIM TO STOP BLOWING IN OUR EAR CONSTANTLY WAS DIFFICULT AND TO MAKE HIM STOP FROM CONSTANTLY TURNING THE LIGHTS ON AND OFF WAS A STRUGGLE
DEREK HAD HIS DIFFICULTIES AT HOME, AT SCHOOL AND SOCIAL SETTINGS. HE RECEIVED A LOT OF DIAGNOSES WHICH WE ULTIMATELY CALLED THE "ABCDEFG" DISORDER AND.. ..WE LAUGHED.
HE RECEIVED SO MUCH SUPPORT AND LOVE FROM HIS TEACHERS, THE SPECIALISTS AND AS TIME WENT ON HIS CONNECTION WITH KIDS TOGETHER WAS HIS GROUNDING. HE LOVED BEING IN GROUP BECAUSE IT WAS A SAFE, CREATIVE ENVIRONMENT AND HE DID A LOT OF WORK COMING OUT OF HIS SHELL. HE LOVED GOING TO THE YMCA TO BE WITH HIS FRIENDS.
YES, HE LOVED GAMES AND HIS TV AND SKIING AND ALL THOSE THINGS BOYS LIKE DEREK ENJOY BUT, MOST OF ALL, I CAN REALLY SAY, HE LOVED US. SOME SAY MAYBE HE WAS TOO CLOSE TO US EMOTIONALLY; HE HAD NO QUALMS ABOUT RUBBING MY BACK, HOLDING MY HAND, HOLDING MY HEAD, LOOKING IN MY EYES AND PLANTING A KISS. WE HUGGED OFTEN AND SOMETIMES HE'D HUG A LITTLE TOO HARD. HIS LAST WEEK WE WERE ALL SITTING ON THE COUCH AND HE SAID "RUB MY HEAD" PLEASE? HIS HEAD IN MY LAP; I RUBBED HIS HEAD AS I DID WHEN HE WAS A BABY THEN HE JUMPED 3UP TICKLED CHARLIE'S FEET AND WENT BAG K INTO HIS ROOM TO FINISH HIS GAME.
LIFE WASN'T ALWAYS EASY. WE HAD MANY STRUGGLES AND SOMETIMES MORE OBSTACLES THAN COULD BE BARED BUT OUR PURSUIT WAS TO MAKE HIM A HAPPY MAN.
WITHIN THE LAST FEW WEEKS, PARTICULARLY AFTER OUR VACATION AND WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS HIS FIRST SEIZURE, HE CHANGED. I THINK HE FINALLY REALIZED HOW IMPORTANT LIFE IS AND SUBCONSCIOUSLY DECIDED TO TAKE A BIG STEP. HE SEEMED MORE CONSISTENT, WILLING TO ENTER CONVERSATIONS WITH US, WANTED TO HELP, DECIDED HE NEEDED TO LEARN HOW TO SKATE BOARD AND STARTED LESSONS. IN THE MEANTIME, HE WAS CONVINCED THAT GETTING HEALTHIER AND MORE FOCUSED WOULD HELP HIM SOCIALLY SO HE DECIDED TO WORK WITH A MENTOR TO ESTABLISH THOSE GOALS AND WE WERE SO PROUD OF HIM.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TOOK HIM FROM US AND WE DON'T KNOW WHY. I JUST KNOW THAT WHEN HE LEFT US HE DIED A WARRIOR.
THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE PLAYED A SPECIAL ROLE IN HIS LIFE AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. WE THANK ALL OF THOSE WHO WORKED, LOVED AND TREASURED HIM AS A FRIEND. WE LOVE HIM VERY MUCH AND THANK YOU FOR BEING THERE FOR HIM.
WE DO HAVE A SPECIAL REQUEST THOUGH AND THAT IS IF YOU SEE A KID LIKE DEREK, PLEASE TRY TO UNDERSTAND THEM AND KNOW THAT THEY NEED TO BE LOVED LIKE ANYONE ELSE... .GIVE THEM YOUR HAND.
Take a moment to remember Derek and remember joy he once brought you.
Please turn on your speakers and listen to the music that Derek loved..
To all of his family and friends,
Please know that Derek will forever watch out for you!
He loved you all so much!
Stories and Poems
Written By: Derek Stroh
RAIN
By Derek Stroh
The rain, it feels like it can wash your fears away
It smell so clean and fresh and
When you put your hand out in the rain to catch a drop
It looks so clear
When you open your mouth to let one into your moth
It tastes so pure.
The Pond
By Derek Stroh
That pond, the water so clear
Every pond you find or see you feel
Strange, oh so very strange, feeling you
Feel like you're wandering into your mind
And you start wondering why or how you came to he
Why you exist You keep on wondering while you
Listen to the leaves blowing in the wind, then you
Realize that it doesn't matter if you know
Or not and that it would just come to Pass.
MARK'S STORY
By
Derek Stroh
Mark was a boy who lived next to a landscaped cemetery with him mom and dad. The water had a charcoal color and the water tasted like mold and metal.
He tries to fabricate the images in his head; the images appear to be a classical show that he watched when he was four.
He had a girlfriend. She had long silky blond hair. They went to each others houses. They were inseparable. They would do everything together. But one day, when Mark asked her to go to the dance with him she refused and broke up with him. Mark went home crying.
While he was doing his homework, he remembered that he had flowers for her. He grabbed the flowers and ran out the door, forgetting that he didn't tie his shoes. He tripped and dropped the scarlet ring he was going to give her if went sent to the dance with him. As he resumed walking to her house, he heard a scream. He hurried to her house as fast as he could. But when he got to the house, she was not there. He checked her backyard. She was not there either.
The last place he looked was the park; the place where they had their first kiss. All he found was her dead body; he cried on her body. He waited two years until his misery killed him.
A Flower
By Derek Stroh
A flower is as delicate as a
single white feather
It’s a sample of life
Every petal is a piece of your life
If one petal falls,
a piece of your life falls
When that happens,
a piece of you fades away
But a new flower is coming to birth
and then
A new life is born into the world
Resembling the person you once were.
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