Derek D. Austin ’95

 Derek died Sept. 8, 2023, in Spokane, Wash., of an acute brain infection.

He grew up on Moran Prairie outside of Spokane, and graduated from Gonzaga Prep. At Princeton, Derek played sprint football, was a member of Tiger Inn, and majored in civil engineering. He was in ROTC and after being commissioned as an engineer officer, led a sapper platoon. His unit served in Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia-Herzegovina, helping to enforce the Dayton peace accords, removing land mines and turning minefields into soccer fields.

After leaving the Army, Derek rode the Trans-Siberian Railway before settling in Silicon Valley, working as a software engineer optimizing supply-chain operations for computer hardware companies. This led to an assignment in Tokyo, where he met his wife, Yuko Takai.

Derek is survived by Yuko; his mother, Beverly; and his siblings, Jennifer, David ’96, and Marc.