Derek S. Randall

Derek was born October 14th, 1986. He was a whopper at 10 pounds and 4 ounces. From his birth day, year and weight you can see that his “lucky” numbers were 10 and 14. He was a very determined child – never crawled, but started walking at 7 months. He was incredibly inquisitive and seemed to always be asking questions. He also had a vigorous imagination and was very creative. At the age of 3, while on a trip to Mt. Hood we stopped for hot chocolate at a mountain café. On the store front window they had a painted advertisement that incorporated an ampersand (&). We had been teaching him the alphabet and I asked him what letter the ampersand was. He thought seriously for several seconds and then answered: It’s a “licking E”.

As a child he wanted no part of Hansel & Gretel, Jack & the Beanstalk, etc. – from the age of 3, his primary interest was in birds. So, rather than the traditional stories that one reads to kids, Derek wanted to be read to from the Audubon Bird book, and similar kinds of bird books. By the age of 9, he could identify virtually every bird in the US, and could differentiate the male and female plumage, whether it was an adult or adolescent, knew its height, length, and wingspan. When he was 10, we went to Washington DC to the Smithsonian Museum. After a couple of hours walking through alcove after alcove of stuffed birds he saw one that caught his attention. He studied it for a while, and then said that the name shown was in error. We told him that we were in the Smithsonian, and they don’t make many mistakes. But he insisted that the bird we were looking at was a “Laughing Kookaburra” from Australia. About an hour later we arrived at the Australia alcove, and sure enough there was a Laughing Kookaburra. Incredibly, it appeared to be identical to the bird he questioned. We went back and forth five or six times, and could see no difference in them. A year later, he went on a four day Audubon Society bird identification marathon. At the age of 12, he was the youngest person ever to participate in this event. Frances and I were very uncertain about letting him go as all the other participants were adults, but he persistently pleaded his case and we finally relented. He identified a record number of birds and won an award, which he was very proud of. He had a magnificent mind and near photographic memory. Years later in High School, he would memorize entire bible chapters with a single reading, and until the day he died, he could recite them word for word.

He started 1st grade at Sexton Mt. in Beaverton, and went there until 6th grade, after which we entered him into Faith Bible School. At Faith he truly blossomed. He was always outstanding scholastically. He was on the “A” Honor Roll every single term from the time he entered Faith until he graduated from High School. He graduated with honors, and we were all very proud of that! As a junior, he visited a local university and sat through one of the upper level classes. The professor gave the college students a logic/math problem to solve – none of the college students were able to solve the problem. Derek was the only person to solve the problem, and did it in a few minutes. He had a gifted mind.

At a fairly early age he also developed an interest in fishing. In the early years, we would no more have the lines in the water, before he would become bored and started throwing rocks at the bobbers. Needless to say, not many fish were caught on those days. Later though, he became a pretty good fisherman. We enjoyed several trips to Canada and Alaska. One of his favorite fishing spots was Crazy Bear Lodge in BC. One time, we hiked from the lodge to a remote lake. It was a seven mile hike (all uphill) and required an overnight stay in a teepee. The hike nearly did in his Dad, and all the fresh bear sign made for a scary evening. The following day though, we caught, and released many very fine trout. Thankfully, the hike back was all down hill.

Derek had many interests - in High School he started playing the electric Bass. He had only three lessons, after which the instructor told him “he didn’t need any more lessons”. He practiced relentlessly and became very accomplished. Frances and I would listen to him play some piece or technique over and over again, hour after hour, day after day, until he got it the way he thought it should be. He had amazing fingers – each finger on each hand, could move totally independent of the others in every direction. He loved music, all kinds of music, and composed music as well. Some of his compositions were very sensitive, soft and melodious, while others were energetic “in your face” bass rifts. One of his favorite pastimes was jamming with his friend Joel – bass and drums going from eight in the evening until two in the morning kept us, and the neighbors awake.

He was adventurous intellectually, a skilled debater, and delighted in challenging conventional thought. He was also not above playing tricks on people. One time he put Exlax in his Math teacher’s coffee – oh oh, he got a few demerits for that.

Creative writing was also one of his passions, and Ms Maki, his AP English teacher, did a phenomenal job of inspiring him to reach beyond himself. He had a very commanding use of language and an outstanding vocabulary.

The other teacher that inspired him significantly was Mr. Weber, his religion teacher. He would come home so full of enthusiasm and energy, and always eager to discuss the things he was learning.

He also learned sign language in High School, and was tremendously good at it (it’s the finger thing again). Every where we went, when he saw someone communicating in Sign, he would approach them and “talk”. When he worked at Baskin and Robbins, he prided himself in being able to take orders in Sign.

He entered his college career at Redlands, but after a year felt that Business was not his calling, and switched to Brooks Institute of Photography. In his Junior and Senior year of High School, he had developed an interest in photography. Like everything else he approached, he was a relentless self-learner. He often went through the entire book of the course he was taking in a week or so, before the class even started. And he didn’t just look through the book, he generally had learned the material thoroughly (that photographic memory thing again). He loved photography, especially black and white film. He has thousands and thousands of photos in black and white. He enjoyed digital photography also, but B&W film was his forte.

While at Brooks, his long time girlfriend Mallory and he conceived a baby. She was born on December 19, 2007. While he and Mallory were not married, they conceived a miracle and blessing in their daughter Aurora, or “Little Stuff” as Derek called her. She became the joy and love of his live. He was so enamored with her, and she dearly loved her “Daddy”. He had such a tenderness and sensitivity for her – both of them loved each other and virtually lit up when they saw each other. He was so proud of her, and she, like her daddy, displays a very astute mind, and phenomenal memory. Aurora didn’t speak until she was about 2, but now she is a little “motor mouth”, but one with an unbelievable vocabulary and seemingly innate ability to express complex thoughts beyond her age. She recently referred to Adrienne’s crutches as “stabilizers”. She is a little miracle, and exemplifies the best of both her Daddy and Mommy.

Derek, like all of us, had challenges in his life. He struggled tremendously with depression and doubt. Regrettably, those challenges overcame his ability to continue living, and we lost him on June 4th, 2012. While we will all miss him so much, we know he will carry on in our hearts and minds. We have wonderful memories of the fantastic person he was. He was a blessing of a son, a wonderful brother, and a very caring and loving father to his daughter.

He is survived by his parents, Randy and Frances, his sister Adrienne (A1), his incredible daughter Aurora (A2), his ever so sweet Basenji, Lucy (the Ba), a great grandmother, numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and countless friends.

Derek, we all love you, and will miss you so much. We are grateful though, for the time we did get to be with you and know you. You are a blessing in all of our hearts.

God bless you and keep you safe in your new journey,

Mom and Dad

Contributions can be made to the Derek Randall Foundation by wire, electronic funds transfer, or check as follows:

UBS AG

677 Washington Avenue

Stamford, CT 06901

ABA 026007993

UBS Financial Services

1000 Harbor Blvd.; 6th floor

Weehawken, NJ 07086

A/C 101WA258640000

F/C Ronald C. Keith

Note: Derek Randall

Or by check to UBS Financial Services to the address below;

Diane M. Schiefferly

First Vice President

UBS Financial Services Inc.

703 Trancas Street

Napa, CA 94558-3014