Back when Derrick Stallworth was growing up, all of his cousins used to love coming over to his mother’s house to spend the night.
They’d crack jokes all night long, laughing so hard their stomachs got sore until they finally passed out from exhaustion. That’s when the mischievous Derrick would get out the hot sauce, and up someone’s nose it would go.
Ever the prankster, Derrick kept people laughing until his final days. He was killed on Sept. 17, 2016 in North Philadelphia. He was 47.
But in life, Derrick had such a silly side that it often overshadowed any trouble his big family faced, said his mother, Cecilia Stallworth. He was the second oldest of six children.
“They would do crazy stuff when they were teenagers,” Cecilia said. “They loved it. I have a lot of nieces and nephews, and they would come over to the house. It’s all they can talk about now, those memories.”
Derrick’s love for family was most evident with his 11-year-old daughter, Taniya. They did everything together, and he loved playing with her and saving up so he could take her to places like carnivals and the zoo. Nothing was too good for Taniya.
Once when Taniya was a bit younger, he bought her a mechanical car for bigger kids, Cecilia said. “I said, ‘I don’t know if she should be driving that,’ and he told me, “No, you got to see her in it. She loves it!’ And he was right, she was so happy.”
Derrick grew up in North Philadelphia, attended Mifflin Elementary and Germantown High, and later, he worked in construction and delivered and repaired appliances. Not too long ago, he set up Taniya in an apartment with her mother, with whom he was no longer together but still got along, Cecilia said.
“We lived in the projects,” Cecilia said. “The only thing I ever tried to do was keep him away from drugs, and it was hard. But he was real good with his friends, and he was always so good to me.”
Cecilia used to go to Atlantic City with her mother every Mother’s Day, and after she passed away, Derrick would make sure to give her money to keep the tradition going every year. That’s the kind of guy he was to family and friends, giving, caring and warm.
“He was so unique. If you were at your worst, he would come and take you out of that. He would always do something to make you laugh and forget about your problems.”
Services were held in September.
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