Published in the San Jose Mercury News, June 16, 2007
 Popular Eagle Scout was novice kitesurfer
Derek Abraham, 18, was from Los Altos
Last Saturday, a group of kids in the Main Street Singers at Los Altos High School got together after their last concert together. For many, graduation - and the start of the rest of their lives - was just a few days away.
Graduating senior Derek Abraham stood up among his friends and said that "his experience with his singing had taught him to think with his heart," remembered his choir director, Mark Andrew Shaull, "and he looked forward to thinking with his heart for the rest of his life."
Those poignant words will echo hauntingly for many who knew Derek, who died Thursday, just two days after his graduation from Los Altos High School. The 18-year-old was kitesurfing off a Santa Cruz County beach, when the wind somehow caught his kite and slammed him against a rocky cliff.
As a novice kitesurfer, Derek may have gone too close to the cliff, and his kite may have been sucked in by an updraft, said his father, Gordon Abraham. Two friends, who were on the beach, tried to resuscitate Derek, but he was gone. Relatives believe the young man died from a head injury, but the results of an autopsy are not yet known.
For all Derek's accomplishments - Eagle Scout, member of four of the six choral groups at Los Altos High, member of the wrestling team, trumpeter in the marching and jazz bands, backpacker and just general adventurer - what people remembered most was how he made them feel: His smile conveyed a sense of adventure that seemed to spill out of him.
One grieving classmate described Derek as one who saw life in full color. She wrote that sentiment on a tie-dyed armband she made in his remembrance.
At a session with grief counselors attended by up to 80 people at the high school Friday, Gordon Abraham was struck by how many people said Derek had touched their lives, welcoming newcomers into marching band, or just infecting them with his enthusiasm.
"I knew he had a lot of friends, I just didn't know how many," Abraham said. "All these kids were coming up to me and saying, `Derek was my best friend,' and I just said, `Wow.' "
"He had such a big spirit," said Derek's aunt, Christine Abraham. "He always seemed to have a big smile."
Having already completed all requirements for his Eagle Scout badge, a presentation ceremony was already planned for June 30. He was eager to start college at the University of California at Santa Cruz in the fall, where he was interested in studying marine sciences - though he not decided on a major.
A memorial service will be held in the next few weeks, but a specific date has not been chosen.
Although he spent a few years as a young child living in Denmark, Derek spent most of his life in Los Altos, attending public schools. He always had a lot of energy, Gordon Abraham said, so much so that he didn't much like being hugged as a child, perhaps because he felt too contained.
But about two years ago, something changed. Derek began to hug his parents when he would come home.
"We have no regrets. He knew we loved him. We knew he loved us," Gordon Abraham said. "That at least is comforting to us."
Kitesurfing, in which a kite pulls a rider on a small surfboard through the water, was a new sport for Derek, his father said. He had been practicing with a smaller kite, but on the day of the accident, on the water off Panther Beach, north of Santa Cruz, he seemed to be doing well.
When his friends looked out at the new kitesurfer, they saw something familiar.
"He had this huge smile on his face," his father said, "that he finally got it."
LAHS graduate killed in kite-surfing accident fondly remembered
By Megan Ma
Gordon Abraham of Los Altos had just arrived at the gate in the St. Louis airport last Thursday when he got the news. His youngest son, Derek, 18, had been killed that afternoon kite surfing on Panther Beach, north of Santa Cruz. He was just two weeks shy of his 19th birthday.
“I had just arrived, just turned on my cell phone at the gate. I had gone to visit with my sister and watch her perform in an opera. I just turned around and took the next flight back,” Gordon said.
The irony seems tragic and cruel - just two days earlier the family had celebrated Derek’s graduation from Los Altos High School. Derek - described by his father as “adventurous, outgoing and well-liked” - had arranged a beach camping trip with his friends Thursday. It was the first time he used a full-sized kite.
Details about the accident that occurred in the late afternoon are still hazy and accounts from witnesses differ. A sudden gust of wind apparently dragged the novice kite-surfer across the sand and slammed him into the side of a cliff. Two friends performed CPR on the unconscious young man, but Derek was
declared dead by emergency crews a short time later, his father said.
When word spread of his death, one parent opened her home that night to grieving students and held a four-hour vigil. Derek’s friends, who together performed in the high school’s choral group, the Main Street Singers, gathered on campus and met with grief counselors.
“I’ve heard so many accolades about him - Derek was very adventurous, outgoing and lived life to the fullest. He couldn’t contain the life within him,” his father said.
A graduate of Almond Elementary, Egan Junior High and Los Altos High schools, Derek was planning to attend UC Santa Cruz in the fall. His interests were broad - Derek performed in choral groups throughout high school, culminating in the Main Street Singers his senior year. He also played trumpet in the Eagle Marching Band and jazz band. The longtime Boy Scout from Troop 37 was scheduled to celebrate his Eagle Scout designation in two weeks.
Mark Schaull, the director of Main Street Singers, said the news of Derek’s death was a major blow for the close-knit choral group.
“Derek was full of energy, full of a positive attitude. He was a well-liked kid, well loved by his peers. Teachers liked him,” Shaull said. “He was just a very nice kid.”
Of his son, Gordon said, “I’m really proud of what he accomplished. I can’t believe I won’t be able to see the second act.”
Derek is survived by his father, mother Sabra and his older brother, Colin.
The Abraham family has scheduled a public memorial service for 3 p.m., Tuesday at the
Los Altos United Methodist Church, 655 Magdalena Ave. The family requests that donations be made to the Derek Abraham Memorial Fund, Los Altos High School Music Department, 201 Almond Ave., Los Altos, 94022.
In Memoriam: back to page 2
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