George Derderian (September 22, 1951 – May 13, 2026), among the champions of the new economy, did not follow an instruction manual. Born in Detroit, Michignan, to George and Elizabeth-Jamian Derderian in Detroit’s storied Rosedale Park neighborhood, he spent a lifetime charting his own course and leaving indelible marks on nearly every path he traveled.

Raised on Warrick Street amid the budding optimism of post-war America, George grew up surrounded by close friends and a deeply devoted family. Those early bonds would sustain him through trials that tested his character from a young age.

As a teenager, he lost his mother, Elizabeth, a warm, vivid woman remembered for her distinctive Armenian-Cuban accent and her radiant spirit. Her parents fled Ottoman Turkey during the Armenian Genocide to arrive in Havana, before settling in the Detroit. Her passing reshaped the family, and George drew from that grief a quiet, lifelong determination.

He later attended Eastern Michigan University where the contours of his character came into focus. As head of the university ski club, he demonstrated an instinct for leadership and an appetite for ambition. His crowning achievement of that era was organizing a campus performance by guru to The Beatles, sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar, a landmark cultural event at the height of the 1970s movements that drew widespread acclaim. George accompanied Shankar in the limousine, traveling to and from the airport, a conversation he carried with him for the rest of his life.

When tragedy struck again with the loss of his younger sister in an automobile accident, George met his grief by moving north to Schuss Mountain in Mancelona, Michigan, immersing himself in the sport he loved. He became an accomplished freestyle “hot-dog” skier of considerable reputation and spearheaded the famed Schuss Mountain’s Slush Cup competition, an event that endures to this day. A full-page photograph in the Detroit Free Press Sunday magazine of George soaring down a mountain in freestyle form captured both the man and the moment in one indelible image.

Returning to southeastern Michigan, George channeled his drive into a series of professional achievements that spoke to his rare combination of charm, discipline, and strategic instinct. He excelled in automotive sales, then took on management of the “Main Event” restaurant at the Pontiac Silverdome, managing its operations and successfully overseeing service during one of the stadium’s inaugural Detroit Lions home games, among the highest-volume days in the restaurant’s history. He later joined Cingular Wireless (later Ameritech Cellular and AT&T), where he led a dealer sales region to record-setting growth.

George’s entrepreneurial spirit found further expression when he earned his builder’s license and began developing custom homes and office buildings across Oakland County. In an industry not always known for its integrity, he built his reputation on precisely that: honesty, transparency, and relationships with subcontractors and tradespeople who trusted him completely. It was George’s secret sauce!

It was during this chapter that he met Zonica Small, the woman who would become his partner in all things. Together, in their Bloomfield Hills home, they raised two daughters, Chelsea and Ashley, by every account the greatest accomplishment of his life.

But it was another major business venture that was his most successful. Watching his daughters’ participation in youth sports and travel soccer in the Bloomfield Hills community, George recognized what was missing: a world-class sports facility. He conceived and personally designed Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac, a 360,000-square-foot indoor complex featuring three regulation-size fields and a groundbreaking clear-span steel beam structure engineered to withstand extreme wind conditions. Despite holding no formal engineering or architectural education, he patented the design, completed construction in under a year, and operated the facility for more than a decade. It became nationally recognized as one of the premier indoor sports complexes in the United States, setting a new standard for youth, amateur, and semi-pro athletics. The facility was later acquired by UWM for use as its corporate offices and training center.

George retired at 70, though he was fond of saying, with characteristic wit, that he’d done so far too early. His final years were spent in the company he cherished most: his daughters, his sons-in-law, and his grandchildren. He remained an active and devoted member of St. John Armenian Church in Southfield, Michigan, where he served on the Parish Council and applied the same practical wisdom and trusted leadership that had defined his career.

Those who knew George speak of a man with a magnetic, unmistakable presence, someone who could walk into any room and, within moments, make friends with everybody there. A man of service, who was always ready to help his family, friends, and church. His wit was quick, his generosity genuine. Once, at a local cemetery, he was found tending to the grave of a stranger. When asked who the person was, he replied simply: “I don’t know, but they were a veteran, so I want to pay my respects.” That was George Derderian. A builder by trade and by nature. A man of deep faith, fierce loyalty, and innovation.

He is survived by his wife, Zonica; his daughters, Chelsea and Ashley; his sons-in-law Michael and Marjan; and his beloved grandchildren Ellis, Daphne, Isabella, and Vincent. His legacy endures not only in what he built, but in the warmth, energy, and inspiration he brought to everyone fortunate enough to know him.