Obituary of Lee Derrick

Funeral services for Mr. Lee Derrick are scheduled for 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in the chapel of Golden Funeral Home with Bro. Phillip McCready officiating. Interment will follow at the Start Cemetery, Start, LA. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the service time. Lee was born in Epps, Louisiana on February 12, 1936, to Willie and Bunner Farmer Derrick. He was one of five children, and they were a farming family who worked hard to survive. He suffered from juvenile arthritis as an older child, but in high school due to a hard, but encouraging coach and determination he played football as a defensive tackle. It was a life changing experience for him. He gained confidence, a new perspective and developed friendships he treasured all his life. At a basketball game in 1956, he met the love of his life, Betty Coughran. They married on March 7,1958 and began their life together. In 1967, Lee went to work at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. He worked in various locations in northeast Louisiana, Alexandria Louisiana, and Ville Platte Louisiana. In December of 1972, he was moved to Bastrop. It was here that he really invested his life and enjoyed his best years. He believed in being active and giving back to your community. Over the years, he was a leader in the Rotary Club, Boys Club, and the United Way. Through programs sponsored by Goodyear, he had the opportunity to recognize the hardworking people of Morehouse Parish and highlight what the region offered. For all his adult life his primary focus was being a part of his local church. First Baptist Church, Bastrop was his family’s church home for forty-three years. He was honored to serve as a deacon all those years. It was a role he took seriously, but always with a joyful and grateful heart. He worked in the Youth department and taught 7th, 8th, and 9th grade boys Sunday School for at least twenty years. He loved those boys and remained interested in them and their lives. He was happy and proud to see many go on and find their own place of service. Lee was active in the Gideon Ministry which meant a great deal to him for approximately fifty years. He enjoyed speaking at churches across the region, seeing friends and sharing the work of the organization. He delighted in distributing Bibles to school children his daughter’s age, and over the years he was sometimes introduced to a class by one of those same kids who was now the teacher. He was even able to give bibles to his grandsons at their middle school in Texas. He was active in the prison ministry and made many trips to Angola State Prison where the Gideons were given opportunity to go one Sunday each year. In later years, when he traveled for work often, he always carried bibles with him to share. Lee never met a stranger and enjoyed talking with people wherever he was. He was known to often stop and help people who were having car trouble. He would take the opportunity to share his faith and a bible. He did the same with clients and was able to walk alongside some after they made the decision to follow Christ. In 2016, he and Betty moved to Texas to be closer to their beloved grandsons. It was especially hard for him to leave the people and community he held so dear. One way he stayed connected was the Thursday morning men’s prayer group that he was a part of prior to moving. He looked forward to that 7:00 a.m. phone call every Thursday morning for eight and a half years. He loved those men and valued their friendship very much. He and Betty made their church home at Hunter’s Glen Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. He was a part of the Gideon’s Frisco camp until his health no longer permitted. They developed friendships that have meant a great deal to them these last years. Lee is survived by his wife, Betty; daughter, Jana Milleson; grandsons, Jack and Grant Milleson; and sister, Louise Broussard of Layfette, Louisiana. Serving as pallbearers will be Kelly Caddell, Jack Milleson, Grant Milleson, Patrick Lawrence, Robert Sanders, and Shelby Moore. Honorary pallbearers are the men of the Thursday Morning Prayer Group: Elva Greer, Andy Coats, Raymond Westbrook, Don Posey, Darrell Neely, Butch Musgrove, Dexter Bryan, and Sonny Case. Also, Joe Boyd, his dear friend in Texas. The family requests that memorial donations be made to: Gideons International Processing Center, P.O. Box 97251, Washington, D.C. 20090-7251 in memory of Lee.