Dereck was born to John and Karen Tomfohrde Carey on July 29, 1970 at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia. He was a loving, caring, creative soul with a passion for outdoor sports, especially soccer and skiing. His early and secondary education was primarily in northern Virginia where he graduated from Hayfield High School in Fairfax County in 1988 with an Advanced Studies Diploma. He graduated from Texas Tech University in 1992 with a BBA in Management Information Systems. While at Texas Tech he was a proud member of the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity where he established many lifelong friendships.
His Management Information Systems degree led him into consulting and living across the continental United States and the world, including Texas, California, New Mexico, Virginia and Australia. On September 11, 2001 he was living and working in Washington, D.C. Out of concern for the safety of his young family, he elected to relocate to the San Antonio area to be closer to his extended family. With his move to San Antonio he followed his dream to become an entrepreneur and established a real-estate business with both short-term rentals (AirBnB) and long-term leases. In this business, he was able to showcase his amazing creativity and ability to build and repair anything. It also gave him time to serve as a stay-at-home parent where he shared and developed his talents with the loves of his life, his children.
Dereck is survived by his loving parents, his three beautiful children; Dane, Hunter (Gabriella) and Serenity and granddaughter, Lucia, his three sisters; Kimberly (Timothy) Goodnough, Patricia (David) Connor and Danielle (Bryan) Burruss. He also leaves behind numerous aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces and cousins in San Antonio, Houston, western Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Australia.
On November 9, 2024 Dereck was inurned in the Carey Family Bench, near his paternal grandparents at Sunset Memorial Park in San Antonio. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Texas Tech University Alumni Association scholarship fund (Clear Lake Chapter, c/o Mike Prior, 15023 Seahorse Dr., Houston, TX 77062) or a nonprofit Mental Health charity of your choice.
Dereck loved his family and was always sharing his skills with friends. Our hearts are broken and he will be deeply missed. May he find peace in his passing.
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