Derek Joseph Gossman, 50, of Rochester, died on Monday, September 20, 2021 at his home.

Derek was born May 25, 1971 in Rochester to Kevin and Faline (Thompson) Gossman.  He attended St. Francis Grade School, then graduated from Lourdes High School in 1989.  He then went on to Collegeville, Minnesota to attend St. John's University and graduated summa cum laude in 1993.   He worked for a year in research at Mayo Clinic for Dr. Textor prior to attending Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI.  He finished Marquette in May of 1996 with a Master of Science in Applied Economics summa cum laude and was awarded full academic scholarship.

He moved to Woodbury, Minnesota and worked as a research statistician for First Data Decision Support in September of 1996.  In February of 1998 he joined Parametrica in Woodbury as Chief Scientist in Research and Development until March of 2000, at which time he joined Metrics Companies, Inc. in Minnetonka as a Senior Analyst Sales Forecaster.  He joined the staff at Mayo Clinic in Human Resources in Rochester in February of 2003 as a Senior Planning and Process Analyst until November of 2005, when he became Senior Project Coordinator in Human Resources.  He remained in Human Resources until November of 2013, when he became a Project Manager in the Kern Center of Mayo Clinic until August of 2021.

In May of 2009, he married Carrie Peterson of Lanesboro, MN. They later divorced in 2018.  Derek is survived by Cora, his daughter and Kylie, his adoptive daughter; his mother, Faline; brother, Dan (Molly) Gossman and their daughters, Isabella and Amelia of Rochester; and his sister, Jill (Paul) Kos and their daughters Hayley, Carly, Greta and Eliza of Apple Valley, MN.  He was preceded in death by his father, Kevin; his uncle, Vance Thompson; maternal grandparents, Glenn and Margaret Thompson; and paternal grandparents, Joseph and Ellen Gossman.

He enjoyed playing with his daughter, Cora. They loved to play soccer outside and many board games. He loved watching her play soccer on a team. He spent many years in Fantasy football and was a rabid fan of all TV sports!  He also enjoyed fly-fishing (particularly with his dad), crossword puzzles and loved studying history and collecting memorabilia from World War II.   He had some impressive maps framed from World War II.  He also loved rock music from the 1970's, and the History and the Discovery Channels.

The Memorial Service for Derek will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, October 4, 2021 at Church of the Resurrection in Rochester.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the Mass at church.  Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Rochester.  A luncheon will be served at the church.

Memorials are preferred to Church of Resurrection or donor's choice.