I have never let being sick stop me from blogging. I’ve even blogged from the hospital before. However, that’s nothing compared to what Derek Miller of Burnaby (a suburb of Vancouver) did. Derek used his blog to announce that he’s dead.
At 6:40 PM Tuesday night, Derek passed away in his home. He was 41. He died of complications from colorectal cancer. He is survived by his wife Airdrie and daughters Marina, age 13, and Lauren, who is 11. At 7:51 AM Wednesday morning, Derek’s last blog post went live.
Here it is. I’m dead, and this is my last post to my blog. In advance, I asked that once my body finally shut down from the punishments of my cancer, then my family and friends publish this prepared message I wrote—the first part of the process of turning this from an active website to an archive.
Derek was one of the earliest and best known bloggers in Vancouver. He had been online since 1983 and started his blog before I even knew what a blog was. I have met Derek at various Vancouver social media events, but I never got to know him very well. From what I can tell, he was a very energetic and passionate person. Reading his blog posts, I can tell that he was a loving husband, a dedicated father, and he will be missed. My deepest condolences go out to his wife, children and family.
