Birth date: Dec 12, 1980 Death date: Nov 15, 2024
Derrick Monahan, 43, of Pittsburgh, PA passed away peacefully on November 15, 2024 after a year long battle with Glioblastoma. Derrick graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1999, and The University of Pittsburgh in 2004. Read Obituary
Dear Derrick's Family and Friends:
Our yoga studio, The Shala Pittsburgh, sends our love to his family and friends.
Prior to Derrick' diagnosis, he was a regular practitioner at The Shala Pittsburgh studio. He was kind and welcoming. He always had a smile to share. And took the time to ask how your practice went. Derrick also came to many weekend long workshop with guest teachers. During the Covid era, many of us had the honor of practicing with him online with his long time teacher, Tim Feldmann. Derrick inspired many students. He was kind to himself even when he struggled with difficult asanas. He will be missed.
On behalf of the studio and several students and teachers, a contribution of $400 has been made to Tree Pittsburgh.
May his memory be a blessing,
Becky Mingo & The Shala Pittsburgh
Derrick, this hurts, brother. We have so many great memories I won’t ever forget. I’ll always remember watching horror movies while we each crushed a Large pizza on our 12-hour watch at Pax River, our Philly skydiving trip, our York & Pitt trips, our time learning how to Lead climb in VA Beach, our many climbing adventures at New River Gorge, mountain biking and running together, grappling, my 21st birthday in Lexington Park, and some wild nights in MD and VA. You were an amazing friend. Fearless, funny, adventurous, extreme, independent, loyal, and kind.
My favorite memory was during one of our climbing adventures in WV… you were about halfway up a route, and I started yelling/complaining because I got stung by a bee. You said ‘suck it up, it’s just a bee sting’. Then it was my turn on the wall… and you got stung… and you said ‘dang, I forgot how much this hurts. Sorry 😆’. Turns out we were belaying each other right above a beehive hidden in some rocks. During that same trip, you setup some weird anchor at the top of a route, and we miscommunicated. I thought you were off belay so I let out a ton of slack. You started dropping about 30-40’ and just said, ‘Chaaaad…’ but in such a calm manner, and I quickly realized it could have been very bad! You had balls of titanium, my friend. Plenty of other great memories and I’m so glad to have been able to experience friendship with such a great person. You helped teach me about strong work ethic. You were constantly learning. And you loved to have a good time. I’ll miss you dearly.
My daughter turned 6 two days ago, November 15. I wish she had met Derrick, they are a lot alike: smart, tough, funny, and most importantly kind souls.
