Michael Richard Derrick

Michael Richard Derrick (Dad) was born in a Warren, Ohio farmhouse on December 4, 1931, to Anna (Maley) and Michael Derrick Sr. The family soon moved to Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood where Dad attended Benjamin Franklin elementary school. As a pre-teen during WWII, he took an interest in military aircraft and naval ships. Even in his later years, he could name any type of plane or vessel that took part in the war.

Being an only child likely fueled Dad’s imagination, which he channeled through his artwork. He attended the Cleveland Institute of Art with a focus on painting…namely watercolor. Upon graduation in 1955, he pursued a long and successful career in commercial art, from Cinecraft Productions to Glidden Paints, producing everything from film strips for elementary education to animated advertisements for television to packaging designs for paint cans. He worked with well-known names from Richard Nixon and Montgomery Cliff to Don Ameche and Burgess Meredith.

Beyond the career, Dad painted countless landscapes and seascapes for more personal purposes, including local exhibitions and for adorning his home. He was particularly inspired by his trips to Cape Cod, which is why many of his works involve waterfront scenes.

After a short tour of service in the U.S. Army, at bases in Pennsylvania and Georgia, Dad married fellow Rhodes High School graduate Barbara Bendall in 1958. Son Michael Raymond was born in 1959, son Mark followed in 1963, and daughter Stephanie (Sasse) rounded out the family in 1968.

In the early days on Cleveland’s Morningside Drive, Dad was often the neighborhood fun dad, hitting baseballs to bunches of kids and playing official quarterback. He was an avid Browns fan since their beginnings and a long-time season ticket holder. He was one of the lucky ones in attendance for the 1963 NFL championship game. Dad was also an avid photographer and Super 8mm movie taker, which produced images that stand today as proof of his family’s way of life in the 1960s.

In 1970, Dad moved the family to Middleburgh Heights, Ohio and into a home where he would live for the next 51 years. Over these decades, Dad was probably best known among friends, family and neighbors as a storyteller, cigar smoker, and avid jogger. In his later years, he would be plenty occupied by 6 grandchildren (Noah, Natalie, Sierra, Luke, Brady and Mallory). Having lost our mother in 2009, he lived on his own in the comfort of his own home for 12 years, at which point assisted living become necessary.

Dad spent his final 4 ½ years surrounded by his paintings at Vitalia Strongsville, where he also lived to see the birth of two great-grandchildren (Anastasia and Katarina).

Loving husband, father and grandfather, Dad left us quietly on April 30, 2026…but also left us with so very much to remember, pass along, and be thankful for. A little piece of him lives on in all who knew him.