Main fundraiser photo

Derek Beckel Memorial Artificial Reef

As many of you know, Derek Beckel was diagnosed in August 2021 with Glioblastoma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. Sadly, we lost Derek on December 8th after a courageous battle. Fortunately, he spent his last year of life traveling and spreading so much joy, love and positivity to the people around him, not to mention the 29 wonderful years he gave us. Derek has always been an avid boater, fisherman, diver and conservationist. He loved Jupiter and the ocean so much that we have decided to dedicate an artificial reef to memorialize him. In lieu of flowers and/or for those wishing to be part of this mission, we are asking for donations to accomplish his dream. See below for links.

To accomplish this goal, we are partnering with the Andrew “Red” Harris Foundation (ARHF) https://andrewredharrisfoundation.org to continue Derek’s legacy of conservation and marine habitat protection offshore of Jupiter. The Foundation is in its 9th year of artificial reef building in partnership with the offshore deployment site permit holder, Palm Beach County and has raised and spent over $2 million while building 2 miles of artificial reefs offshore of Jupiter and Juno. Please read the Guy Harvey article for more details about their past work. Pages 62-69: https://issuu.com/rowlandpublishing/docs/21gh_fall_digitaledition

ARHF founder, Scott Harris, has shared that building artificial reefs in his son's name helped him deal with his grief and has invited us to volunteer with the foundation and build a reef for Derek. Cody and Steve will be joining Foundation meetings with manufacturers and Palm Beach County Environmental Resource Management. We expect to be able to share more details of Derek's reef project as soon as next week and will keep all advised as the project progresses. We have every reason to believe Derek's artificial reef project will be completed this summer, 2023.

We will keep all donors apprised of the funds raised and the project's progress.

THANK YOU to everyone who has reached out in support of our family. Derek touched so many lives in his 29 years. Feel free to share this post. We also appreciate any photos and memories you would like to add.

We will have a celebration of Derek’s life in February at Jupiter beach. More information soon.


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Donations 

  • Stephanie Kupiec
    • $75 
    • 5 mos
  • Mark Gustafson
    • $250 
    • 9 mos
  • Louise Jardine
    • $50 
    • 9 mos
  • Debra Denise Vass
    • $200 
    • 9 mos
  • Elizabeth Byrne
    • $100 
    • 9 mos
Donate

Organizer and beneficiary

Karle Dunbar
Organizer
Jupiter, FL
Lisa Beckel
Beneficiary

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