Born in London, England in 1932 to Sydney and Violet Stratford .
After their fourth family home was bombed in WWII Derick’s family flipped a coin to decide if they should move to Canada or New Zealand. At the age of 15 he came to Canada by ship and took a train from the east coast to Victoria. Once settled in Victoria he took on several jobs including working in the shipyards on naval ships including the Athabaskan and the Algonquin. He helped build docks at remote communities around northern Vancouver Island. He went on to work at Gladwell motors and then went on to open his own Royalite gas station. While cleaning up his property at his BA automotive shop on Douglas St he found his lion and unicorn statue that would later become his company logo for Derick’s Automotive.
Around 1957 he moved up to Campbell River where he would meet his special angel Wendy. They wed in 1958 and later that year Normen was born, the following year Susanna was born, then they moved back to Victoria in 1960 where Maria was born.
Derick was passionate about racing and a big fan of Nascar. He even owned 3 cars at Western Speedway and was a sponsor, mechanic, and head tech man. He went on to win the presidents trophy from Western Speedway and was entered into their hall of fame.
Derick and Wendy loved to travel all over North America in their motorhome. When they were home they frequented one of their favorite local spots; Jordan River. They would camp in their motorhome and play crib, Yahtzee, and solitaire on the ocean while listening to the radio and drinking tea.
Derick’s favourite past time later in life was visiting with his grandchildren and great-children. He would be the first person to tell you that they were his greatest accomplishment.
Predeceased by:
His wife Gwendolyn (Wendy) Stratford, brother Ken Stratford, daughter Cyndy Jeffery, and grandson Jonathan Boomhower.
Survived by:
His son Normen (Donna), daughter Susanna (Stephen), daughter Maria. His grandchildren Angela, Aaron, Mark (Kathy), Jeffrey (Kayla), Michael (Cetty), Sheri (Larkin), Gary, Jesse (Chenai), Devon, Roseanne (Jessee), Christopher, and Kyle. His great-grandchildren Jack, Charlie, Benjamin, Annabelle, Landon, Braylee, Kyle, Willow, Lochlan, Areilio, and Jakob.
Service Information:
A Memorial Service
will be held at First Memorial at 4725 Falaise Dr on Dec 10, 2021 at 10am.
A donation in Derick’s memory may be made to Victoria Hospice
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