Another young man has, tragically, died suddenly in what should be the prime years of his life. That would be Derek Chavez, just 32 years old. Sadly, Mr. Chavez died suddenly on January 12, 2023, which was just four short days after his wedding. Reports revealed that he died of a heart attack.
Mr. Chavez’s wife, Kristen Chavez, shared the devastating news about Mr. Chavez’s death in a lengthy tribute to him on Facebook. Posting the message alongside photos from their wedding day, Mrs. Chavez announced his loss and spoke about how she feels.
Beginning the Facebook tribute, she said “I don’t know how to write this. By now I think you all have heard of our tremendous loss. Derek was phenomenal with his words, when there was great loss, he often had an excerpt in his back pocket to comfort those who are dealing with it. He always had an answer and some wisdom beyond his years.”
Continuing, she then got to the truly sad part of the post, saying, “He was my rock, he is our true north. He always came home to us. He always made his way home. I don’t have answers right now. I don’t think I can even wrap my head around what is going on. But what I do know, is he is not coming back. And I am lost, and we are broken. I need to mourn my husband… He didn’t just leave a legacy. He IS the LEGACY. And I don’t know how to do any of this without him.”
Mrs. Chavez then shared that, at the very least, her husband had been with his wife and children at the time of his passing. In her words: “Know that he was home surrounded with his girls. He was not alone. We were with him. He will always be with us.”
Mr. Chavez was, before his death, a production supervisor for the show “1923.” In addition to working as a production supervisor, Chavez has also worked as a production assistant, production secretary, assistant production office coordinator, travel coordinator and production coordinator for nearly forty different TV shows.
So his career was gradually building and he was getting more and more responsibility, but that was snatched with him just four days after his wedding. Mr. Chavez leaves behind two daughters, a wife and his parents Stacey Santos and David Chavez. Chavez and his wife Kristen had only been married since January 8, 2022.
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In passing away at such a young age, in the prime of his life, Mr. Chavez has joined many others who have sadly died suddenly at young ages recently. Among them, for example, was former University of Georgia women’s tennis star Lilly Kimbell. She died suddenly, also of what was reportedly a heart attack, recently. That is despite her having been a star athlete who stayed healthy.
A tribute to Mr. Chavez was included in episode five of the current season of “1923”.
By: Will Tanner. Follow me on Twitter @Will_Tanner_1
Featured image credit: from Mrs. Chaves’s Facebook post