Darnelle Terrell Wesley and Hooper Council Wesley welcomed their New Year's gift from God when he delivered Derek Hooper Wesley to them on January 2, 1966. Derek was a lovable, energetic and sweet baby. His smile was contagious and his chubby jaws simply delicious. He carried those traits throughout his life until his untimely and sudden death from natural causes at home on February 3, 2026.

Derek lived and attended public schools in Atlanta until the age of ten, when he, his sister and mother moved to Birmingham. He seemed to never meet a stranger and had many friends and associations and around the city. His passion for cooking and love of animals knew no boundaries. He had something going on the grill at least 2-3 times a week. He adopted animals and fed his friends and the homeless. He volunteered at a church food bank packing boxes. His jobs were always working as a cook in restaurants. Anyone who knew Derek knew of his obsession with cars. He sometimes changed cars more than he changed clothes. He also loved working in his yard. Setting out new plants or relocating others to a more suitable area.

Derek was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Newman J. and Florence R. Terrell, his paternal grandparents, Nesbit B. and Vivian Wesley and his father Hooper Council Wesley. He leaves his spirit and love to his mother, Darnelle T. Wesley, sister DeShaun M. Wesley and niece Briel Dudley Bell along with many relatives and close family friends.

We all knew him in different and similar ways and have many tales, good and bad. But through it all, the prayer is that he felt loved and will truly be missed.