Derek Rocco Barnabei grew up in the loving family of Jane and
Serafino Barnabei as a regular child of remarkable intelligence,
 in a New Jersey town.
In school, he won honors and praise for his writing on topics such as patriotism and
received a personal letter of
congratulations from U.S. Senator Edward Kennedy.
In grade school Derek could easily be found writing poetry such as:
"Big Dad"
Big Dad's the greatest.
He never turns you down.
And when you have
Peace and tranquillity,
You'll know Big Dad's in town.
On the back of the same ruled sheet of paper, Derek would also give us his
philosophy:
"The Day"
The day's almost gone,
And the year will go on,
And listen here lad
It doesn't help to be so sad.
At the age of 8 Derek also manages to get a Green Belt in The Korean Tang Soo Do (Karate)
Association. The long list of achievements continues throughout his life. He
plays soccer and basketball when he is 10 years old, and wins awards in both
categories. At 12 he wins "The Fire Prevention Award" gets certified on
Boatman's Safety Course, and Somers Point Public School is only pleased to announce, year
after year, that Derek is on the High Honor Roll.
Citations of Merit are given to Derek on topics such as:
"Why I
Think America Is Great" and "Mental Gymnastics
II." When Derek is only 13, he is very active in
Young
Art, and as versatile as he is, his hard questions prompt Congressman William
J. Hughes, to write back:
"Dear Derek:
Thank you for writing in order to express your
views on a subject of mutual interest and concern.
I certainly understand your fears about not being able to afford a college education,
especially if you have aspirations about becoming a doctor. Tuition is very costly,
and, with inflation, the cost of college education is increasing every year..."
The Veterans Of Foreign Wars Of The United States, award Derek, when he is 17, for having
placed first in both local and district levels contest for his
"Voice
Of Democracy" Speech Writing Essay. Proudly Derek gets published in
"The Press" of Atlantic City.
On that occasion Derek's Dad humbly tells that
"Derek is more
than qualified to write on patriotism. An
uncle was a survivor of the Bataan death march during World War II. And a cousin
holds the Silver Star."
"Derek has received numerous honors, - continues The Press - including the
Rotary Club award, an honor accorded the junior high school graduate with the highest
scholastic grades."
Derek went on to college for for 1½-years after he graduated from High
School.
Derek was a brilliant mind with a brilliant future, but was extinguished in Virginia on
September 14, 2000, injected with a combination of lethal chemicals at 9:02 p.m. and was
pronounced dead at 9:05 p.m. |
