Derek Sheldon was the type of kid that everyone wanted to know or knew, he was only 19 years young. I met him a few summers ago at Raceway 5 in Batavia, NY. Quickly we became as close as can be. That boy had the biggest smile always and he always knew how to make anything better. He lived life to the fullest and never had a worry or a care in the world. He would always tell you, “I ain’t got no worries”. Now Derek was that crazy country boy. He drove a navy blue Chevy Silverado with a big ole’ Case IH sticker across the back window and a silver tool box in the bed of the truck. That boy drank a lot of Fireball Whiskey; it was his all time favorite alcoholic beverage. Even though his nights would typically end bad when he drank it, like falling in a fire and receiving 3rd degree burns all over his body. Derek was a hunter too, you name it and he went to hunt it. Same thing with fishing. He had a skill for shooting geese, days when most people wouldn’t have their birds, he would come to where they were and helped them get their goal for the day. Definitely had a natural ability to shoot. Derek always had a need for speed, wanting to drive racecars and always go fast in everything. His nickname at work was WFO. Derek owned a 2005 blue Suzuki, he loved that bike to death..literally.

July 29th, 2013 … the start to a horrible few days. I sat in the hospital with my 98 year old great grandmother and watcher her take her last breath while holding her hand. Derek was who I instantly texted to vent. I cried on the phone talking to him at 2 am in that cold hospital hallway where I could hear babies crying and bed alarms going off. Derek never wanted to see anyone upset. So knowing how much I absolutely love sunrises and sunsets, he thought he would surprise me. Being a farmer, he was always up and on the tractor before dawn. Well that morning he had sent me a picture of the sunrise and said “People come and go, I guess that’s life, but no matter how hard times get, put your head up and take the punches because someone’s always looking down on you”.

Thursday August 1st was the day of my grandmas’ funeral and wake. The sight of my cold, still grandma made me weak inside and out. So I took a stroll outside to get some fresh air, during that walk I received a call from Derek. That conversation I had with him lasted for about 12 minutes. I can remember him saying over and over again, “it will be okay princess, I’m here for you always. I’ll see you Saturday and you’re getting the biggest hug ever”. Derek had a voice like no other, it stuck in your brain the way gummy bears stick to your teeth. He had a sweet voice to go along with that gigantic smile. He would call me every day after that to keep me smiling and positive, the only person that could do that.

Saturday August 3rd, I was supposed to be in Batavia at Raceway 5 to see Derek. Unfortunately I got stuck babysitting my nephews with my mother, so instead of seeing him, he called me. Even though most of our conversation was him venting about how he was furious with a racer who put my brother over the wall. He was extremely mad and in the mood to fight, so calming him down was a tad bit difficult. Not knowing that would be the last conversation I could ever have with him that he would actually answer back in devastates me so much.

Sunday August 4th, honestly the worst day of my life. Not knowing anything had happened, I went about with my day until about 4 pm. That’s when my phone was shot down, blown up by a horrible text that read “Derek’s dead”… Imaging getting that dang text. HORROR. Never in my life have I screamed and cried the way I did that day. Nobody would tell me what had happened until a little later in the day. I found out that his accident was at about 12 pm Sunday in Leroy, NY. This 50 year old woman turned in front of him, running a stop sign, and he had no time to react. He was on his motorcycle, of course. Even to this day I have only been to the spot once and it’s extremely hard to go to it. Attending his wake and funeral was so hard, knowing he was gone and all that was left of him was a box of ashes that read “Derek Kenyon Sheldon”. During the funeral, I managed to hold off crying until I looked at the pamphlet that you receive among entering. The back of it had the words that he told me when my grandma passed on it. Another tear jerker was when our friend Khari Sabb had his speech, he mentioned my family and I. The way that Derek’s brother Trevor hugged me at his wake and funeral will never be forgotten. They were long, comforting, tight hugs. Both times I remember picking my head up off his shoulder and saying “sorry Trev, your shoulder is a little wet”. He just laughed, the way he went through grief was unbelievable with how close them two were. Trevor was doing a lot of smiling, that is good though. Every time I see that poor boy, all I do is look in his eyes and can tell he misses his brother, best friend more than words can explain.

Derek was able to tough so many lives in the short 19 years that he was here. Watching the amount of facebook posts drastically go up each day, seeing the amount of people attend his candle light vigil, and seeing the amount of people that came to his funeral was insanely crazy. So many people lived his full of life self, his positive attitude, his goofy humor, and that huge smile that lit up the whole world. Everyone wishes we could just see that smile again… Derek’s loss was a major killer to many people, especially us that were closest to that handsome boy.