Daniel
Carpal tunnel level member
- Location
- Suburban Philadelphia (Wayne)
Just got word yesterday that Derrick Kardos, owner of Classic tree Care out of Wyndmoor PA, has died.
We just had some brutally cold, single digit nights. He was found unconscious at 9:30 Am in a park, apparently with no jacket on. He had definitely relapsed and was homeless at the time. Speculation is that he may have taken his jacket off because he was high, and slipped hitting his head, with the concussion leading to death from exposure. Sad story.
He was a good tree man with stunning movie-star looks, a smile that could melt a mountain, and one of the most charming personalities I've ever met.
I did a lot of stump grinding for him in 2017 and last worked with him the day before Thanksgiving. I was running the bucket on this monster 5'+ dbh silver maple .... He was shorthanded, just him and one groundie. I must have made 1000 cuts that day, bombing one side then the other so he could clean up below, then rigging out monster limbs, swinging them down perfectly balanced from the back side all the way out to the street by the chipper... We all walked away with a great sense of accomplishment. The tree was on the ground in 5 hours, most of the brush chipped, accomplished through hard work, teamwork, skill and camaraderie.
As I was getting in the truck to leave he said, "great job .. hope to do it again sometime"
That will never happen now...
LESSON TO THE LIVING:
DON'T PICK UP!
just don't do it... GET HELP... go to a meeting... call the recovery hotlines... Whatever you have going on there is someone that's been through it before and is willing to support you.
There will me a service for Derrick back in Michigan. Feel free to PM me for more details..
We just had some brutally cold, single digit nights. He was found unconscious at 9:30 Am in a park, apparently with no jacket on. He had definitely relapsed and was homeless at the time. Speculation is that he may have taken his jacket off because he was high, and slipped hitting his head, with the concussion leading to death from exposure. Sad story.
He was a good tree man with stunning movie-star looks, a smile that could melt a mountain, and one of the most charming personalities I've ever met.
I did a lot of stump grinding for him in 2017 and last worked with him the day before Thanksgiving. I was running the bucket on this monster 5'+ dbh silver maple .... He was shorthanded, just him and one groundie. I must have made 1000 cuts that day, bombing one side then the other so he could clean up below, then rigging out monster limbs, swinging them down perfectly balanced from the back side all the way out to the street by the chipper... We all walked away with a great sense of accomplishment. The tree was on the ground in 5 hours, most of the brush chipped, accomplished through hard work, teamwork, skill and camaraderie.
As I was getting in the truck to leave he said, "great job .. hope to do it again sometime"
That will never happen now...
LESSON TO THE LIVING:
DON'T PICK UP!
just don't do it... GET HELP... go to a meeting... call the recovery hotlines... Whatever you have going on there is someone that's been through it before and is willing to support you.
There will me a service for Derrick back in Michigan. Feel free to PM me for more details..
