Derek was a former City scout and more recently arranged legend games involving ex-City players and veterans.
He was awarded a Medal of Distinction for his dedication to charity fundraising in 2014.
Former City winger Peter Barnes, who worked closely with Derek, has paid tribute to his generosity and kindness.
“Derek came on board when my Dad was chief scout and did some scouting for City,” Barnes said.
“He did such a good job and in his retirement Allan Grafton and I brought Derek on board about 20 years ago to help with the vets team.
“Derek had been our manager for the past 15 years helping out with all the events, charity dinners and matches.
It’s a sad loss. I only spoke to him about 10 days ago and he was alright, despite being in lockdown for the past year.
“Derek was City through and through - he was a big fan with a big heart.
“He was so good to work with and he knew all the old players and we’ve done some wonderful events over the years.
“We’ve been to Benidorm many times down the years and raised a lot of money through some great events over there.
“He was very warm and very friendly, and I used to really enjoy meeting up with him.
“It’s very sad. I’m on a WhatsApp group with all the former players and I passed on the sad news and to a man they all came back saying how sorry they were. He will be missed very much.”
Everyone connected to Manchester City would like to offer their sincere condolences to Derek’s family and friends at this difficult time.
