Biographical Sketch

of the

Reverend Doctor Herman L. Dericho

The Reverend Doctor Dericho, a native of Montgomery, Alabama, was born

November 27, 1934, to the late Florzellia Roseberry and the late Nathaniel Dericho. His family

worshiped at Kingdom Hill Missionary Baptist Church where he was baptized at the age of 12

years old. He lost his only sister at an early age.

His primary and part of his secondary education was obtained within the public schools of

Montgomery, Alabama. He left home in September 1950 and moved to Apopka, FL to live with

his cousin and her family. He enrolled in Hungerford High School for a brief period of time.

Wanting to assist his cousin financially, he unselfishly left school to work. Shortly after

that, he met the love of his life, Mary Lee Brown and they married June 20, 1953. New Hope

Missionary Baptist Church, under the leadership of Reverend Williams at that time, was where

he found his spiritual connection. He fondly remembers his first Sunday School teacher, Sister

Janie Holston, who helped to also mold him in the Word of God.

He is an entrepreneur and started a concrete masonry business named Tri-D Concrete

Construction Company. It was the unfortunate death of his daughter in 1955 that he promised

the Lord that he would follow Him and preach His Word. He kept that commitment by serving

as a Sunday school teacher in 1956; serving as chairman of the Trustee Board in 1957; and was

appointed to the head of the Building Committee in 1958. He was ordained in the Gospel

ministry in 1959. Currently the senior pastor in the Apopka area, he is a member of the First

South Florida Missionary Baptist Association where he served as Financial Secretary for 40

years before stepping down. He is the Chairman of Finance for Congress #1, which is under the

leadership of Rev. Leonard Wilson, President.

Having actively participated in civic and religious activities in Orange County over many

years, he is past president of the Apopka Chapter of the NAACP. He was instrumental in getting

churches in Apopka to use their space as classrooms for the Apopka Head Start program.

Feeling a strong desire to serve as a mentor to his family and the community, he was

motivated to go back to school and earned his GED from Jones High School and later enrolled

in Johnson's Junior College (Currently Lake Sumter College) in Leesburg, FL. Fulfilling his

ultimate goals, in 1995, he graduated with a business degree from Morehouse College, LTC in

Atlanta, GA. and received his Doctor of Divinity from St. Thomas Christian University in

Jacksonville, FL in 2015.

Under the Reverend Doctor Dericho’s leadership, New Hope established a scholarship fund

to assist young members of the church to attend college. A tutorial program was developed to

help students pass statewide assessment tests. New Hope has also grown structurally with the

addition of church signs, handicap ramps, parking lots, and extensive renovations

to the Sanctuary which includes the addition of two bathrooms, a new lobby, pews and windows.

The church also has a fresh coat of paint. Numerous church officials have been installed including

deacons, deaconesses, trustees, and licensed ministers under his leadership. Rev. Dericho will be

celebrating his 57^th year of pastoring New Hope Missionary Baptist of the 4^th Sunday in August 2020.

He is married to Mrs. Mary L. Dericho and they are the parents to five children,

18 grandchildren, and many great grandchildren.