‘Apple of his mom and dad’s eye’; Sumter family shares fond memories of teen on what would have been his 16th birthday
Rice, pot roast, mixed vegetables and Auntie’s macaroni and cheese. That’s the meal Cynthia woke up early Friday to prepare for her nephew Derrick “CD” Wilson for his 16th birthday. Though he may not be here to receive it, she and his mother, Silessa, said the life of their joyous relative will continue to be celebrated.
As a child, Derrick was the smallest of the bunch of his siblings, Silessa said. He was quiet when it came to speaking but made up for it through his mannerisms.
“He was a child that had everything; he never wanted for anything. As he grew up, he had more and didn’t mind sharing [with other kids],” Silessa expressed. “He would take his stuff and give it to them and say, ‘Ma, I don’t know what happened to it. Can you buy me this?’”
Cynthia, with a faint smile, shared how he never failed to bring light to the family. His humor and his jolly personality were a treasure to the family. On Thursday, she was looking through old videos of her nephew and stumbled upon one of him dancing.
“I never saw him dance before,” she said, about the humorous video of her nephew.
“I needed that laugh. I never laughed so hard. You would’ve thought I was in a room with about 20 people, but it was only me,” she shared. “But when I watched the video, it was very eye opening.”
Silessa, though emotional, remembered her son fondly.
“He was so attached to me,” Silessa said softly.
Derrick was their “little man,” “one of my favorite nephews,” “the apple of his grandmother’s eye” and “the apple of his mom and dad’s eye.” And he’s gone way too soon.
Derrick was found outside on Thursday afternoon in the Hoyt and Nelson streets area and appeared to have been shot, according to Sumter Police Department. He was reported missing on Wednesday after leaving a relative's home in a vehicle with two unknown individuals.
“To be taken away at such a young tender age, it takes a lot out of you,” Cynthia said. “It's raining right now. It's hard on his mom and his dad, but the sun is going to come out again; the sun will shine again. You thought that hushed him? You actually just shook a beehive. There are so many people that love that kid so, so much, including us. We would never let anything happen to him.”
Through her tears, Silessa expressed her desire for change.
“I just want them to put the guns down,” she said. “There are too many people in this world getting hurt. Just put the guns down.”
The family will continue to celebrate their “CD” – a nickname given to Derrick by his father – not just on his birthday but every day forth.
“He may not be here physically, but he is here. He's always going to be in our hearts always, and we're going to keep his name alive. What happened and how it happened; we can't change that. But what we can change is what we do from now on,” Cynthia said. “We have to get it together - and I'm going say we, because it does take everybody. We have to get it together, and things are going to get better. It's raining right now, it's storming. But I trust God, and things will get better."
The family asked the community to keep them in their thoughts and prayers.
Sumter Police Department is working to determine who Derrick was with, what happened and why. Updates will be published as more information becomes avaliable.