Around town, Chris Derby was known as a successful Chapel Hill businessman who was always willing to give back. But at home, Chris Derby was known as “cool-rocking daddy.”
Derby, a local business owner and member of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce board, died Monday at the age of 57 from a heart attack.
Chris and his wife, Marcy Derby, had three children: Brett, 27; Kelly, 25; and Torri, 19, who always referred to their father as the “cool-rocking daddy.”
“He loves music, and they thought he was the coolest dad,” Marcy Derby said. “Every night when he’d talk to them before they went to bed, he’d tell them he loved them and ask if there was anything he could do.”
Derby moved to Chapel Hill in 1989 as a district manager with Marriott Corporation. He worked with Marriott for 25 years before leaving the corporate world to operate two local UPS stores at Fordham Boulevard and Meadowmont. Derby also owned the Baguettaboutit food truck and restaurant.
A man of service
Marcy Derby said he was a man of integrity, always putting other people’s needs before his own. She said she would often hear her husband ask, “What can I do for you?”
Derby was a board member for Extraordinary Ventures, a nonprofit that creates small businesses that employ young adults with autism and developmental disabilities.
Derby co-chaired the learning and innovation theme group of the Chapel Hill 2020 plan, which focuses on medicine, healthcare and lifelong learning.
