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3.20.2003
Derek J. Gray, 22; looked forward to becomg a father
Derek J. Gray knew how to draw a crowd by playing guitar, telling jokes
on a friend's stoop, or starring in a school play.
At age 22, he was looking forward to a new role: being a father. His
fiancée, Barbara McGill, is due to have their baby in August. Derek
proposed to Barbara this fall. "They were just so excited about getting
married," friend Lauren DiPierna says.
The prospects of fatherhood scared Derek at first, but then he became
excited about it. "He wanted a boy to listen to his rock music with
him," Lauren says.
An avid guitarist and songwriter, Derek wanted to be famous. "He
wanted to start a band in California and do all his stuff out there,"
Lauren says.
Derek was a fan of rock 'n' roll bands from the 1980s, following groups
such as Warrant, Poison, and Dokken. He wore T-shirts with logos from
his favorite bands and carried pictures of himself posed with his favorite
singers, Bret Michaels of Poison and Jani Lane of Warrant.
"Any time you talked about music, his eyes just lit up, and it was
like a child on Christmas morning," agrees Tony Palaza, a manager
at Lowe's Hardware, where Derek sold lumber.
While Derek followed bands on weekends, he kept in touch with friends
at home in Burlington, Mass. "Every time he left us, he'd tell us
all that he loved us," said Lauren.
Once when Derek spent a weekend in Vermont to see Warrant, he sent Lauren
a letter to entertain his friends who hung out on her front stoop. He
included a personal note to each; he told Lauren that she was like a second
sister to him, and said she had a beautiful singing voice.
During his senior year at Burlington High School, Derek played the gangster
in the school play, Kiss Me Kate. Lauren recalls rehearsing scenes with
him -- he replaced the scripted words "au revoir" with "oh
ravioli" to make the cast members laugh.
On the basketball court, playing pick-up games in the park with his friends,
he drew attention -- not only because of his height (he was 6 feet 5 inches)
-- but also from his attire. He would play wearing cowboy boots and leather
pants.
After graduating from Burlington High School, Derek went to work for
Home Depot, and started at Lowe's seven months ago, putting great effort
into his job. Last September, he was named employee of the month. "The
lumber aisle is still his aisle, even though he may not be here,"
Palaza said.
-- Jessica Resnick-Ault
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