Derek Steven Hines

West Point, 2003

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by The Casey Family on September 7, 2005:

Our hearts are broken, but we have so many good memories of Derek that will stay with us forever. The last time I would see and talk with Derek was at an Army hockey banquet the year after he graduated. My husband and I were so pleased to find ourselves seated next to him at the dinner and we so enjoyed talking and laughing with him. It didn't take much to make him blush and turn that handsome face bright red! After hockey games, he would always stop for a hug and offer his "replay" of the game. Derek wasn't the biggest player on the team, but what he didn't have in size he made up for in speed. I can still see him skating low and zipping down the ice at full speed. He never held anything back in a game. The pride and joy that Sue and Steve felt while watching Derek skate was there for all to see and when he scored a goal everyone was on their feet! I remember taking Christopher to the PX to buy charcoal briquets for Derek's Super Bowl party and then dropping him off at Derek's temporary home in Highland Falls. What a treat to get a Sunday away from the barracks and to watch their home team the Patriots! I remember how grateful we were when he would give Christopher rides to and from West Point and all we had to do was meet Derek at the rest stop on the Mass Pike. And I remember talking to Sue after a hockey game and we were talking about the things we do for our kids and she told me how Derek loved the smell of his sheets when she hung them outside on the line to dry and then she said, you better believe those sheets are on the line every time he comes home! Well, if someone is listening in Heaven, please get those sheets ready for a beloved son.

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