Derrick Earl Harris Sr.'s Obituary
Derrick Earl Harris, Sr. affectionately known as “D” to family and friends was born in Detroit, Michigan to Clifton Harris, Sr. and Thelma Louis (Harris) Brinker. He was his father’s second child and his mother’s only child. Derrick was christened Catholic when he was a baby and went to elementary school in Detroit. When Derrick was 5 years old, his mother and father divorced, and his mother moved him to Mississippi to live with her parents, while she relocated to San Diego, California. Derrick learned to run around barefooted, and he said rocks did not hurt his feet back then, and he also swam in the river with water moccasins, (and he got a whoppin’ from his grandmother for doing that), and yet, this was where Derrick’s natural athletic ability began to flourish. Derrick went to elementary school for a couple of years in Mississippi and at the age of 8, his mother sent for him. In San Diego, Derrick attended Horton Elementary School, and Gompers Junior High School. Derrick loved sports, and he demonstrated that at an early age, by excelling in Little League Baseball and Pop Warner Football. Derrick also worked out at the gym throughout his schooling to gain strength, and he was a proud graduate of Lincoln High School, class of 1973. In high school he was a star athlete, where he received his nickname “Scamp, short for Scamper” in football because Derrick’s running speed was fast and impressive. In Derrick’s senior year the football team went to the CIF Championship Game, and they played at and against Sweetwater High School. Lincoln did not win the game, and Derrick felt that some of it was due to a few tricks the other team pulled, like wetting the field on Lincoln’s side, etc., but at least they made it to the finals. Derrick also excelled at baseball at Lincoln, and he received a college scholarship to San Jose State where he played baseball and attended college for a year. He had to quit college because it was not affordable for his mother, but there were other things in store for him in the future. Derrick loved his high school, and he was definitely a “Hornet for Life!” He also played semi-professional baseball in the US and Mexico. As he played baseball and worked out at the gym, throughout his life he continued to make many life-long friends along the way.
Work Life:
Derrick had summer jobs when he was in high school and after graduating, he was hired at Rohr Industries in 1974 but quit to go to college on the scholarship he earned. After college did not work out, he worked a few different jobs including picking watermelons and working at K-Mart. Derrick went back to Rohr Industries and was hired at Rohr again on May 17, 1976. Derrick worked 45 years at Rohr/Goodrich/UTC/Collins/Raytheon, and throughout all the mergers, most of his tenure was at Rohr. His first position at the company was a custodian, and then he moved to drop hammer, which was Fred Rohr’s patented invention, and he honed his craft, which helped him to work on “those guns”, his incredible muscular arms. Derrick worked in many different departments such as Bldg. 1 - Drop Hammer, Bldg. 30 - Rapid Fab, Bldg. 1 - SPF, and he also moved to assembly working in Bldg. 61 on the 787 and A-350, and in Bldg. 29 & 61 in Aftermarket/Customer Support. He also supported the company by working in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Foley, Alabama, and he spent 2 years in Mexicali, Mexico, where he came home on the weekends. When COVID came, Derrick decided to take the separation package at Collins/Raytheon Aerospace, and he retired in 2021 after 45 years of service. Much gratitude to Rohr/Goodrich/ UTC/Collins/Raytheon for helping him to raise his family, meet his wife Nevia, and have a good life.
Derrick and Nevia – (The Friendship):
You can’t talk about Derrick without talking about Nevia because they did everything together. Derrick and Nevia met at Rohr Industries in 1993. At that time, Derrick worked in the Rapid Fab department in Bldg. 30 and was a Forming Mechanic for the Drop Hammer area. Derrick was also a Group Leader for the department, reporting to Leo Paulino, who told him you need to meet the person that is in the office that supports our department, and Nevia was that person. So, Leo introduced Derrick to Nevia, and he purposely sent Derrick to get the leadman sheets in the office every week. For Nevia, it was about business, but little did she know that Leo and Derrick had other things in mind. Derrick played softball in the Rohr softball league and the department that Nevia was in (Mock-Up) needed a girl on the team, and they asked her to play. They did not know that she played softball in high school, so they were wonderfully surprised, and that caught Derrick’s eye. Rohr had softball leagues from “A to E” and Derrick played softball in the “B” league, and Nevia played in the “C” league. So, when Derrick would pick up leadman sheets, he started sitting down and talking to Nevia about softball games, and they would crack up laughing about them. They both became friends finding out that Derrick knew Nevia’s sister and brother-in-law (at the time) and probably merely just missed knowing each other previously. Derrick kept trying to get Nevia to come to watch him play softball, so one day he came to her game. Nevia showed off and played stellar, and then it was her turn to go to one of his games. Derrick turned it up and Nevia was impressed and actually said, “That boy can play!” There was a saying that everyone would say about Derrick when he played and it was “Speed Kills” because after Derrick would hit the cover off the ball, he would run so fast around the bases, that he was a blur. That year, Nevia’s team won the championship – C league, and Derrick’s team won the championship – B league. The next year, Derrick asked her to play with him and she did. They both had competitive spirits and played together with and against each other in leagues and in tournaments in Fairhope & Foley, Alabama, San Marcos, Texas, and Riverside & San Diego, Ca. and they won most of the championships and had a great time.
Derrick and Nevia – (The Romance):
After that, Derrick and Nevia started hanging out and going places together. Derrick lost his mother in October 1997, and Nevia was by his side throughout. Derrick had never met his father and before his mother passed away, she gave him the information to contact him. In 1998, at the age of 44, Nevia accompanied Derrick to Detroit, Michigan to meet his father for the first time. Derrick was able to spend time with his father and stepmother, which he affectionally called “Mama”, going to family reunions and meeting his brother Joel and Pete. Derrick also had an older brother, named after his father, but everyone called him “Boo”, who passed away in a car accident in 1980, before Derrick was able to meet him. Derrick was able to spend valuable time with his father and family for 10 years before his father passed away in November 2007. The other things Derrick enjoyed was watching western shows and movies (he was a cowboy at heart and transferred this to Nevia), and action packed, scary, and suspenseful movies. Derrick also adopted bowling, where he joined Nevia, who is a league and tournament bowler. Derrick joined the team she was on in the SD Transit League, and they bowled in other leagues, with the last one being The Golden Payoff League at 32nd Street. In addition, they bowled in National Tournaments traveling around the US and winning money most the time. They were always double’s partners, bowling in the (Men’s tournament)/USBC Open for 21 years. Derrick was truly an amazing athlete and could excel at any sport – no questions asked! He also went to “March Madness”, where he would do small sports betting. One year he asked Nevia to join him with a group of friends that went every year. Nevia played basketball in high school and was born in North Carolina and Derrick loved the Michigan Wolverines and the North Carolina Tarheels, so it was a natural fit. Derrick and Nevia never missed a “March Madness” together since 1995. They would be in Las Vegas at March Madness with their daughters, Shanell and Venetia and son Lil Derrick, grandchildren, Kayla, Kaleem, Jayloni, and Skyler, and nephews, Genos, Carl, Eddie, Little Genos, and Bear-Bear and nieces Gina, Nicole, and many friends that would make the trip and they always had big fun! Additionally, Jazz Festivals must also be mentioned. Denise Snowden introduced them to the festivals and from Newport Beach, Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego, with friends, they both enjoyed the grass and then the VIP section of these concerts. They both loved music and dancing and made lots of friends along the way. Throughout their life, Derrick and Nevia had a few girlfriends and boyfriends, and both had 2 ex-marriages with children from their first marriages, but the third time was a charm and on March 13, 1999, Derrick and Nevia were married at “March Madness” in Las Vegas. They have traveled around the world together, holding hands, laughing, eating, drinking, and loving each other with family and friends. One of Derrick’s favorite quotes was “Treat yourself, don’t cheat yourself”, and Derrick and Nevia tried to do that every day of their lives together.
On Tuesday morning, March 4, 2025, Derrick was welcomed to his heavenly home with The Lord by his side. Thelma Brinker (Mother), Clifton Harris, Sr. (Father), Clifton Harris, Jr. (Brother), William Brinker (Stepfather), and many Aunts and Uncles preceded him in death. He leaves to cherish his memory, his loving wife, Nevia, Three Children: Shanell Perkins, Derrick Harris, Jr., and Venetia Morris. Grandchildren: Kayla and Kaleem Perkins, and Jayloni Keyes – (Shanell), Amoryeana Harris – (Derrick Jr.), and Skyler – (Venetia). Stepmother (Mama): Naomi Harris, Brothers: Pete and Joel Harris. Uncle: Hubert Harris (Father’s Brother), Mother-in-Law: Barbara Anderson, Father-in-Law: Homer Anderson (who preceded him in death), Sister-in-Law’s: Daralene Hardrick - (Robert), Maria Cofey - (John), Michelle Anderson Hall - (Stanley – who preceded him in death), Robert Anderson I - (Anygela), and Estellena Anderson. Michael Kelly – (Brother from another Mother) - (Sunnie), Maxine Lynch (Special Mom), and a host of nephews, nieces, cousins, family and friends.
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